PORTLAND -- David Ortiz crossed first base, well after the throw arrived. He stopped, pulled his shirttail out and kept walking.

Big Papi has left Portland.

The exit was not exactly dramatic. And the performance -- one walk and one grounder into a double play -- did not inspire.

But Ortiz's three-day appearance with the Portland Sea Dogs accomplished everything else. Hadlock Field fans got a chance to see one of baseball's most magnetic personalities, and Ortiz got his work in.

"I think I am where I want to be," Ortiz said before Wednesday's game between Portland and the Connecticut Defenders. Ortiz was finishing a six-game rehabilitation assignment -- three games in Pawtucket, three in Portland -- as he recovered from torn tendon sheath in his left wrist.

Wendesday's game started two hours late because of rain and then was suspended in the bottom of the fourth inning when the rain returned. The Sea Dogs led 2-1 with the bases loaded and two outs.

Several fans already began to leave before the fourth inning, following Ortiz's departure.

Now Ortiz goes from facing the 87 mph fastballs of Connecticut starter Brooks McNiven to the 97 mph heaters from Joba Chamberlain of the New York Yankees. Ortiz joins the Boston Red Sox on Friday for their home game against New York.

"I'm not afraid to go against nobody, now," Ortiz said, "but before I started playing I definitely was.

"I didn't know what my reaction was going to be. But once I started swinging everything has been good.

"I'm not going to lie to you, I'm not 100 percent. But I'm close."

Ortiz said his wrist occasionally becomes sore, but the soreness goes away.

"Sometimes you feel weak because it's not an easy injury to deal with," he said. "I can take one swing and can feel sore, but then I take another swing and I don't feel anything.

"There are some little things I'll have to deal with, which is what the doctor told me. But otherwise I'm not afraid to let it go."

Ortiz said the injury will mean daily trips to the trainer, "to get my swing to loosen up."

The hop from Hadlock to Fenway will be no trouble, Ortiz said. True, when you take a Cadillac Escalade to Boston, the journey to Boston is smooth. But once Ortiz gets there, he expects to feel ready to go.

"I can't wait," he said. "My timing feels good. It feels like I've been playing all along. It feels like I was facing the Yankees yesterday."

But Ortiz was facing the Defenders. There was a question whether Ortiz would wait out the rain delay, but he knew Hadlock was sold out (though not completely full because of the rain).

"Hopefully everything goes well and the fans can see me for a couple at-bats," he said before the game. He pointed out at the soaked conditions.

"If Tito (Boston manager Terry Francona) knows the field is like that, I guarantee he won't let me play."

But Ortiz did play.

He drew a first-inning walk against McNiven, facing five pitches. On a 3-1 count, McNiven threw an inside pitch, causing the fans to boo.

In the third inning, with runners on first and second with one out, Ortiz grounded into a 4-6-3 double play.

And then he was gone.

The Sea Dogs kept playing. In the bottom of the fourth Argenis Diaz's RBI single tied it, and Tony Granadillo gave Portland a 2-1 lead with his RBI double to left.

Bryan Pritz walked to load the bases, but the umpires called for a halt.

The game was suspended and will be made up as part of a noon doubleheader today.