The homer ended Boston's 13-inning scoreless streak, a drought that began in the sixth inning of Game 2 on Saturday night.
Westbrook struck out Coco Crisp but when Julio Lugo beat out an infield single, manager Eric Wedge pulled his gutty starter, who received a thunderous ovation from the towel-waving crowd of 44,402 as he jogged to the dugout.
The Red Sox ran themselves out of a potential scoring opportunity in the fourth.
Ortiz ended an 0-for-8 drought vs. Westbrook with an opposite-field double off the wall in left, but then was struck on the leg when he inexplicably broke for third on a hard-hit grounder to shortstop by Ramirez.
In the second inning, Boston loaded the bases on a walk, single and error by first baseman Ryan Garko, a former catcher who botched an easy grounder. But Westbrook got Varitek to fly to left and then escaped trouble by getting Crisp to hit into an inning-ending double play.
Boston is appearing in its third championship series in five years.
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