Christian Vazquez had 10 home runs from 2014 to 2018. This season, he has 21 in 451 at-bats.
The catcher’s career year continued in the Red Sox’s 6-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday, as Vazquez hit two home runs and drove in five to lead Boston’s offense. He’s now up to 21 home runs and 65 RBIs on the season, both of which are career-highs. Five RBIs also is the most he’s ever collected in a single game, with Sunday being his first career multi-home run game (including his first ever grand slam).
So yes, it’s been an impressive season for Vazquez, and Sunday’s career day was an eyebrow-raising addition to the campaign. He recognized his improvements at the dish following the win.
“It’s a big difference,” Vazquez told NESN’s Guerin Austin. “We made adjustments in the offseason and they’re paying off now and the swing feels good.”
As for hitting two bombs in the same game, Vazquez joked about comparing himself to teammate Mookie Betts, who’s made a habit of multi-home run games over the last few years.
“Yeah, it’s cool to hit two in the same game,” Vazquez said. “Mookie has like 20, but yeah it’s fun to get a W and have a happy flight home.”
Alex Cora holds Vazquez to a very high standard due to their close relationship, which means the Red Sox skipper is especially happy to see his fellow Puerto Rico native performing well.
“I’m always tough with him,” Cora said with a smile, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “We’re from the same country, so he better play well. I know he works hard, we’ve gotten closer, family wise. … We have a great relationship so, although he’s a player, he seems like a little brother.
“I play against him in winter ball, I manage against him, so I know what he can do,” Cora added. “We see it back home and I know he wants to be great. I know he has some high goals.”
Those high goals likely will be met if Vazquez continues to swing the bat like this.
Here are some other notes from Sunday’s Red Sox-Phillies game:
— Check out Vazquez’s two bombs below:
— Rick Porcello picked up his 13th win of the season Sunday after throwing five solid innings in the win.
The right-hander amassed six strikeouts while giving up just five hits in his best start since mid-August.
— Brandon Workman picked up his team-leading 14th save of season after tossing a scoreless ninth inning.
Workman leads Major League Baseball in opponent batting average with hitters batting just .124 off the right-hander. He’s also the only pitcher this season to have nine-plus wins and nine-plus saves.
One more impressive stat: The reliever now has faced 194 consecutive batters without giving up a home run.
— This two-game sweep hurts Philadelphia’s playoff hopes immensely.
The Phillies now trail the Chicago Cubs by four games for the National League’s second wild-card spot.
