Few Boston Red Sox have performed better at the plate to start the season than Christian Vazquez (minus that batting practice mishap).
The Sox catcher has homered in back-to-back games, hitting nukes over the Green Monster against the Tampa Bay Rays. He’s now hitting .421 through six games this season, scoring six runs, driving in four and doubling once in addition to the pair of dingers.
Early in his career he was a streaky offensive performer. But he’s hammered out the consistency in recent years, and since has become one of the steadiest hitters at a position not generally known for being full of offensive juggernauts.
And when you take the last 162 games he’s played, like Red Sox stats guru Justin Long did Thursday, you can see that the pop in his bat isn’t a new concept.
For reference, those numbers date back to early in the 2019 season.
Offense long had been projected as a strength for this Red Sox team. And thanks in large part to guys like Vazquez and J.D. Martinez, that is proving to be the reality over the last few games.
Boston now embarks on its first road trip of the season, beginning with a three-game set against the Baltimore Orioles, with the opener set for 3:05 p.m. ET on NESN. Since Vazquez was the designated hitter Wednesday, he likely will be the catcher Thursday afternoon.
