Vazquez on a good swing
Catcher is improved at plate
Christian Vazquez entered yesterday with the same exact OPS (.881) as Mookie Betts.
RED SOX NOTEBOOK
Long known for his talent behind the plate, it’s Vazquez’ ability with the bat that is opening eyes for the Red Sox this season.
The catcher was 3-for-4 Friday night to push his season average to .311.
“It’s been great to see him this way,” manager Alex Cora said. “It’s not the same guy as two years ago, three years ago, that he was just getting lucky hits. Now you can see it. He’s driving the ball. He’s actually controlling the zone. Probably more swings and misses but we’ll take this.”
It’s the best the Red Sox ever have seen Vazquez swing the bat, but it’s not the first time he’s been on a hot streak like this. In 2017 he hit .346 with an .899 OPS from July 29 through season’s end.
“I think in ‘17 I was hitting good, but now I feel more like I can drive the ball everywhere with power and it’s working,” Vazquez said.
It’s a drastic difference from his .207 average and .540 OPS he posted all of last year.
“It wasn’t a great offensive season for him,” Cora said. “Obviously he got hurt. But he did his homework and he worked. I think out of the whole thing in the offseason, the most important thing is that we were talking the same lingo. What we were preaching during the season, he was able to slow down and do it in the offseason.”
In his last 15 games, Vazquez is hitting .447 with five extra-base hits.
“Don’t try to do too much, get my pitch to swing, hit it hard,” he said.
Could the Red Sox’ decision to cut ties with Blake Swihart and focus their catching duties primarily on Vazquez (and Sandy Leon as the backup) have given Vazquez the confidence he needed?
Vazquez said the roster move didn’t change much for him, but Cora believes it might have sparked something.
“I do feel that making the move we made, and that wasn’t the reason, it was a baseball move, but it challenged him,” Cora said. “Like, ‘Hey, we believe you can hit. We believe you can be an all-around catcher.’”
The five homers this season already have tied a career-high. He still is hitting at the bottom of the order and was slotted in the eight-hole Saturday, but the Sox like what he’s done so far.
“This is a guy that, handeye coordination is his biggest tool,” Cora said. “You saw him yesterday, he’s able to stay inside the ball and go the other way, but now he’s able to get a fastball from Gerrit Cole that was way inside and he got to it. The one to Roberto Osuna was105 off the bat. So he’s in a good place.”
Making his Marco
It might not be soon, but the Red Sox have their eye on an injured infielder with a lot of potential.
Marco Hernandez hit .294 in 40 games with the Sox in 2016 but hasn’t appeared with the Sox since 2017 and had to undergo shoulder surgery last year.
He was promoted from High-A to Triple-A yesterday after hitting .295 in 21 games with Salem. He played 11 games at shortstop and six at second base. With a strong arm and solid range, Hernandez profiles as a utility guy with pop and the Sox are excited about the 26-year-old’s progression.
“When healthy, everybody knows what he can do,” Cora said. “He’s very athletic and can help any team. He can run, play defense, hit. I’m happy this happened and he’s put himself in this situation. It’s a testament to him and the medical staff because that was non-stop. Spring training I used to get here at 5:30, 5:45 a.m., and he was there already, working on his craft and doing everything. I think everybody who knows him, the kid he is, how humble he is, is very happy what’s going on with him.”
Injury updates
Brock Holt (eye) and Dustin Pedroia (knee) will continue their rehab assignments with the PawSox through the weekend, though Pedroia was to serve as the DH and Holt play second both yesterday and today.
Lefty Brian Johnson (elbow) will start in Triple-A or Double-A tomorrow as the Red Sox stretch him out as a starter while he recovers from injury.
Third base coach Carlos Febles is dealing with bone chips in his right foot and was in a walking boot yesterday. Cora said he could miss some time.
Knuckleballer Steven Wright, suspended 80 games for performance enhancing drug use, could throw his first simulated game next week.
Top offenses
The Astros and Red Sox rank first and second in most categories since the start of May. The Sox’ run differential was a seasonworst minus-42 after two games in Yankee Stadium in April, but they have a plus67 run differential since. Only the Astros, at plus-68, have done better.
Nine of the American League’s top 25 players ranked by on-base percentage are on the Red Sox and Astros.
Nine of their last 18 regular season games have been decided by one run.