BOSTON — Xander Bogaerts came into the 2015 Red Sox season with a lot to prove,and he’s off to a fantastic start at the plate through his first 10 games.
The 22-year-old shortstop leads the Sox with a .395 batting average, which was bolstered by a 2-for-4 performance Friday night against the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park. His last hit, a walkoff single in the ninth inning, gave Boston a 3-2 win in the first of a four-game series with Baltimore.
It was the first walkoff RBI of his young career.
“I was just trying to put the ball in play,” Bogaerts said. “(Orioles pitcher Brian Matusz) was throwing pretty hard, so you’ve got to lower your effort level right there. He threw me that first fastball pretty hard; just tried to make contact, stay up the middle and use the big part of the field.”
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Bogaerts, who also broke up the Orioles’ no-hitter with a 1-out single in the fifth inning, was the only Red Sox player with multiple hits Friday, giving him a team-leading 15 on the season. David Ortiz, Mike Napoli and Shane Victorino have 13 hits combined.
In fact, Bogaerts has collected multiple hits in five of his last seven games. Not only is he producing at the plate, but the 22-year-old also is showing good patience and using all fields. The result is an on-base percentage of .452 through 38 at-bats.
“He’s doing it in a way he’s not susceptible to any one side of the plate,” Red Sox manager John Farrell said.
“When Xander has been in good streaks, even in the minor leagues, he’s using the whole field. We saw in Philadelphia in the first series, again tonight, and we saw in New York. He’s in a pretty good place offensively.”
The Red Sox rank second in runs scored per game (5.9), fourth in hits (93), fifth in batting average (.246) and fourth in on-base percentage (.341) among the 16 American League clubs. Bogaerts’ consistent production is the biggest reason for this early offensive success for Boston.
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
