The Red Sox walked away with their fifth win at home of the season Saturday, but it was Xander Bogaerts that truly dazzled in Boston's 5-3 victory over the Washington Nationals.
The shortstop had himself a great night, going 3-for-4 at clean-up including a three-run blast on the first pitch he saw in the first inning of the game.
So, what's allowed him to stay so consistent lately?
"This is tough, you know? I just feel like this year has really been a real challenge for me," Bogaerts told NESN's Guerin Austin after the game, as seen on NESN's postgame coverage. " ... I mean, I'd just been putting up some good at-bats and not getting results (in the past), so it's definitely good as a baseball player to get some results and obviously see that the work you put in is paying off."
Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke praised Bogaerts' approach at the plate.
"That's the thing that these guys that can do damage. You have to be careful with the first pitch," Roenicke said in reference to Bogaerts during his postgame video conference. "And some guys, you are pretty sure they're going to take it, but you're not positive. And so, you're still trying to navigate yourself around the zone. And he just left it up where Xander's good at."
In fact, Roenicke thinks swinging at the first pitch could be more beneficial for leadoff hitters than some might realize.
"But I think it's important at times to put some swings on that first pitch," he said. "You know, you don't have to do home run damage. But if you do (get a) base hit or doubles only once in a while then it puts that doubt in their mind on whether you're swinging at that first pitch. And you know, there's been some great hitters that have done that. I was with Bobby Abreu, who really hardly ever swung at the first pitch, and obviously, he was a fantastic player. ... At times, we couldn't get Mookie (Betts) to swing at that first pitch. But there's that doubt in the pitcher's mind: Is this going to be the time when he's winging at that first pitch. So you still have to be careful."
Hopefully, this is a sign of good things to come.
Here are some more notes from Saturday's Nationals-Red Sox game:
-- Roenicke called the victory a "hard-fought win."
"It felt like it was a playoff game where you're doing to do everything you can to trying and win a game," he said. " ... It seemed like a lot of innings. But the guys did a good job, kept throwing up zeros, and some guys came in and got some big outs for us."
-- Mitch Moreland celebrated 10 years in Major League Baseball
"Its so much to put in words," Bogaerts told Austin. "Obviously, we all know how he is as a ball player. And I let him know that I appreciate everything he's done for me as a player to make me better and obviously as a person, just the way that he shows up to the ballpark every day, his leadership and I mean he's just that great presence to have on a baseball team and is sucha bseball guy and obviously i'm very blessed to play baseball alongside him. ... Those are the type of guys you root for, man, you wish they continue to play as long as they can. Obciously, he's been masterful for us pretty much since he's got here.
-- Darwinzon Hernandez didn't look his best Saturday night, especially in terms of velocity. Roenicke even acknowledged it after the game.
"He didn't seem like he was right. He didn't seem like he was on his game," Roenicke said. "And I know we're still trying to build him, and that doesn't always mean two (or) three innings (of work), but it's kind of what we see. And it just didn't look right tonight. So that's why we didn't put him back out there again. And then, next time I'm sure we're going to try and go two (innings) again with him. So, (we're) just trying to keep an eye on him and make sure everything's good as he builds up to the point where we would like him to get to."
-- Washington left 14 (!) men on base in the loss.
-- By the way, Brock Holt faced the Red Sox for the first time since joining the Milwaukee Brewers in the offseason. Except now, he's on the Nats.
Unfortunately for Holt, who went 3-for-30 with the Brew Crew, he struck out on just three pitches.
