Here’s the catch: Hit
Leon or Vazquez? Nod goes to a hot bat
Through Christian Vazquez’ first 10 games, he had the hot bat.
Over the last two, Sandy Leon has the hot bat.
In the eyes of Red Sox manager John Farrell, who catches will be whoever is swinging the bat better.
As the Sox enter a threegame series against the Brewers in Milwaukee without the designated hitter, they’ll need all the offense they can get.
Expect Leon to get a few extra at-bats.
“We’ve distributed it pretty evenly,” Farrell said Sunday. “It was three and two, starting with Sandy, and then it swung back to Vazqy as he was swinging the hot bat. We’re fortunate we don’t drop off in any way defensively. You can afford to ride a little bit of a hot bat, and Sandy is swinging it much like Vazqy was 10 days ago.”
The switch-hitting Leon has been a weapon against left-handed pitchers dating back to last year, when he and Hanley Ramirez were the two best hitters in the American League against lefties, per OPS. Ramirez’ 1.097 OPS was tops while Leon’s 1.062 OPS was second among hitters with at least 80 plate appearances.
Leon also held his own last year against righties, hitting .286 with a .764 OPS, but has done little against them this season until this past weekend in Minnesota when he hit three homers, all off right-handers.
“I felt good,” Leon said. “The last couple games I was hitting the ball good, just right at people. Tried not to change anything just trying to swing at strikes and they happen. I’m not trying to hit any homers, just put a good swing.”
On the season, Leon is hitting .196 with three homers, 12 strikeouts and two walks against righties.
“He’s swinging the bat with a lot of confidence right now,” Farrell said. “He’s in a pretty good place, especially on the left side of the plate where, of late, that’s been a little bit of a scuffle for him.”
It seems like it’ll be a fluid situation all season, with Leon and Vazquez sharing the time evenly. Leon also developed a particularly good relationship with pitcher Chris Sale.
“No doubt,” Sale said. “Just being able to have someone back there that I can trust. I knew that before I even got over here. When I got traded I got a lot of text messages about our catchers and how they can handle a staff and what they can do behind the plate. What they do speaks for itself in terms of pitchcalling, framing pitches, throwing guys out. I don’t know if there are any two catchers on the same team that have that kind of ability. The pitching staff as a whole, we’re very fortunate to have those guys in our corner and be able to throw to those guys every day. It’s a pleasure. It’s something that not only helps out through an entire game, but an entire season. Throwing out runners and getting pitches you might not get, things like that, not to mention the fact that they’re both raking right now. Throw that in the mix too and it’s pretty deadly.”
Shaw producing
Third base has been an issue for the Sox, but not for the Brewers.
Former Red Sox infielder Travis Shaw hit his seventh homer of the year on Sunday and has nine doubles and 24 RBI through 29 games. Shaw was traded with shortstop prospect Mauricio Dubon to Milwaukee for reliever Tyler Thornburg, who is out with a shoulder strain and hasn’t thrown a bullpen session since spring training.
While Shaw has an .847 OPS, Red Sox third baseman rank 29th in the majors with a .611 OPS. . . .
Drew Pomeranz (4.00 ERA), Kyle Kendrick (13.50) and Eduardo Rodriguez (3.07) will start in Milwaukee. Righties Wily Peralta (4.88), Chase Anderson (2.86) and Jimmy Nelson (4.83) will go for the 16-16 Brewers.
Johnson excels
Left-hander Brian Johnson was named the International League pitcher of the week for throwing eight innings and allowing just two hits and one run against Syracuse last Tuesday. Johnson’s 2.28 ERA ranks ninth in the IL. . . .
Former Red Sox prospect Yoan Moncada took home the International League batter of the week award after hitting .500 in six games for the White Sox’ Triple-A affiliate in Charlotte. Moncada, who was part of the deal that sent Sale to the Sox, is hitting .352 with six homers and seven stolen bases, though he has struck out 33 times in 108 at-bats. . . .
The Red Sox said that pitcher Steven Wright underwent a successful cartilage restoration procedure on his left knee. The surgery was performed by Dr. Riley Williams III at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. Wright, who will miss the rest of the season, wrote in a tweet, “Surgery went well, in recovery, resting up, PT starts tomorrow!!!”