It was a good Wednesday for Blake Swihart.
The Red Sox catcher celebrated his 27th birthday in a big way, going 3-for-4 with a solo home run in Boston’s 6-3 win over the Oakland Athletics at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Swihart’s three hits led the team and also accounted for two runs.
“I felt good at the plate,” Swihart told NESN’s Guerin Austin, as seen on “NESN Sports Today.” “I was just trying to put some good swings on the ball and things worked out for me.”
But it wasn’t all that easy for the 27-year-old, who made a costly error when he sailed a throw past second base on a Marcus Semien steal. The error almost was costly, as Ramon Laureano appeared to drive in his teammate when he beat out a deep Brock Holt throw from short for the RBI. But manager Alex Cora challenged the call, and that made all the difference.
The Sox would go on to score three runs in the ninth thanks to a Mookie Betts double and Andrew Benintendi triple, but Swihart knows he owes Holt a tip of the cap.
“I kind of sailed the throw a little bit to second base,” he said, “let him go to third base there. And (Holt) picked me up right there making that amazing play and that was awesome. That was a great play.”
Here are some other notes from Wednesday’s Red Sox-Athletics game:
— Wednesday’s win snapped a four-game losing streak and Swihart said the Red Sox need to keep the momentum going.
“Just take it day by day,” he said. “Keep having fun together and just go out there and have some fun.”
— J.D. Martinez’s second-inning single extended his hit streak to seven.
— Boston was shut out for 22 2/3 consecutive innings by the Athletics, but that changed when Swihart hit his first home run of the season in the top of the fifth inning.
— Ryan Brasier earned his first career save with a scoreless ninth inning.
