BOSTON -- Given the impact sitting next to Dustin Pedroia on the flight back from Seattle had on Mike Napoli’s week, shouldn’t the Red Sox have insisted that struggling David Ortiz sit next to Pedroia on the flight to Minnesota on Sunday night?

Napoli, who hit five home runs and batted .429 on the six-game homestand after a batting tip from Professor Pedroia, said Ortiz can sit wherever he wants.

“We’re going to play Minnesota, [and] I know he has some good numbers against them," Napoli said after hitting a 450-foot home run -- the longest struck in Fenway Park this season, according to ESPN Stats & Information -- in Boston’s 6-1 win over the Los Angeles Angels Sunday afternoon.

“Hopefully that will get him going. We’re not worried about David. David’s a Hall of Famer in my eyes. He’s an unbelievable hitter, a smart hitter. We know he’ll be producing soon.’’

The Red Sox head to the Midwest heartened by two terrific turns through the starting rotation (2.42 ERA in the past 11 games, including 10 starts of holding the opposition to two earned runs or fewer and nine starts of pitching into the seventh inning), and a Napoli-triggered revival of the offense, the Sox collecting 10 or more hits in three successive games against the Angels, a first this season.

The infield defense was outstanding Sunday behind Wade Miley, the team manufactured a run via a sacrifice bunt and sacrifice fly, and the three-run rally in the eighth that broke this one open was keyed by a perfectly executed hit-and-run by Xander Bogaerts, who had four hits and is batting .440 (11-for-25) over his past seven games.

The Red Sox had played with energy on the West Coast, too, and had gotten very good pitching. The difference this weekend was the return of the timely hit: The Sox were 3-for-4 with runners in scoring position Sunday, 9-for-16 since manager John Farrell made Pedroia the leadoff man and flip-flopped Hanley Ramirez and Ortiz in the 3 and 4 holes, and 12-for-25 in the three games against the Angels.

The missing component against the Angels was Ortiz, who went 0-for-4 Sunday, is 0-for-his last 12, and went just 1-for-13 against the Halos. Ortiz’s batting average is .227. The last time it was this low this deep into a season was in 2009, when he was still under .200 in June and wound up hitting a career-worst .238.

Back then, plenty of folks were opining that he was washed up. This go-round, even though he is 39, the voices have been muted, perhaps because every time anyone has suggested Ortiz was in full decline, he has exposed his critics as foolish little souls.

Ortiz’s biggest issue these days has been hitting left-handed pitchers. He went 0-for-4 Sunday against starter Hector Santiago and reliever Cesar Ramos, and is now a ghastly 6-for-56 against lefties.

But here’s why Napoli believes it should work to Ortiz’s benefit that the Sox are headed to Minnesota. Just as Napoli has wreaked havoc on one of his former clubs, the Angels -- his slugging percentage (.739) and OPS (1.192) against them are the highest by any opponent -- Ortiz has been a force of nature against the Twins, the team that non-tendered him after the 2002 season.

That holds especially true in Target Field, where in 14 games Ortiz is batting .509 (29-for-57) with nine home runs and 22 RBIs. The Twins are scheduled to start three right-handers -- Ricky Nolasco, Mike Pelfrey and Phil Hughes. Ortiz has only two at-bats against Pelfrey, but has three home runs in 10 at-bats against Nolasco and two home runs and a .345 average against Hughes.

“We’re swinging the bat in key spots better than we’ve been, but we’re still not there,’’ Farrell said. “We’ve got to get David going.’’

Napoli, of course, is already there. With his two hits, he climbed over the Mendoza Line for the first time (.203), and became the first Sox player since Ortiz in 2012 to homer in three consecutive games.

“I’ve been there before,’’ Napoli said of his extended struggles. “I’ve been in a slump in my career. I know I’m just one swing away from feeling good. I kept grinding; I wasn’t going to give up. I knew I was struggling, but I kept at it, worked with Chili [Davis], got a tip from Peewee [Pedroia], and everything’s been going good.’’

Did the lineup shakeup make a difference?

“Doesn’t matter to me,’’ said Napoli, who has been hitting behind Bogaerts in the past three games from the No. 6 hole and has hit four home runs in that span. “Whatever, if it’s going to help us.

“Here’s my thing batting in the lineup. You’re going to get pitched the same way no matter where you hit. Just because some guy is hitting seventh or eighth, you’re not going to switch up and say I’m going to throw him more fastballs.

“They have a game plan against you, no matter what. Struggling or not, they’re going to tendencies, what their scouts see, and how they feel. But this [lineup] looks good. It’s working. I don’t mind. It doesn’t matter where I hit in the lineup, I just want to win.’’