Michael Chavis may have began the season in Triple-A Worcester, but he's certainly making the most of his time with the Boston Red Sox.
Chavis went 2-for-5 with two runs in Boston's 8-1 win over the Oakland Athletics on Thursday night at Fenway Park. The second baseman led the game off with a risky double, and saw his helmet come off several times during the night.
"Right away he hits a missile and just kept running," manager Alex Cora said over Zoom after the game. "He saw (Ramón) Laureano -- didn't come up clean with it -- and he kept going. He just set the tempo for the whole night."
Laureano has given the Red Sox problems before by throwing runners out from deep in the outfield. There's no denying he has an incredibly strong arm, but Chavis saw his opportunity to try to get into scoring position so he took it.
"When I saw him dive I knew was gonna take a second to get up," Chavis said. "So off the bat I'm trying to take a hard turn around first. Then it was kind of just a read where I was just waiting to see what happened, waiting to see it unfold. He didn't hop up quite as quick as I anticipated, so once I saw that I thought I had a chance.
"There's no kidding he does have an incredible arm so that was definitely something to take into account. Good thing it turned out well."
Over his last four games, Chavis is batitng .278 with two doubles, one home run, two RBIs and three runs. He's making his case to stay with the team, and may give Cora some tough decisions to make once Enrique Hernández and Christian Arroyo return to the lineup.
"I absolutely want to stay around the team as long as possible," he said. "I've been taking the same approach I took in spring training, trying to earn a spot. Every day that I get a chance to play I'm trying to make the most of it. I'm just trying to make an impact, honestly. It's been amazing being up here, and it's good to be back with the guys. I love being up here and I love wearing Red Sox on my chest. It's sure as hell easier to play as hard as I do when I have a Red Sox jersey on, I can tell you that."
Here are some other notes from Thursday's Red Sox-Athletics game:
-- Xander Bogaerts said the Red Sox need to be better with men on base, and that it started it with him.
Well, he did just that Thursday with a 3-for-3 night that included a home run and three RBIs as Boston's designated hitter.
"I'm trying to convince him to DH (Friday) again," Cora said. "But he wants to play short. It was good to see him hunting a first pitch and put a good swing on it."
-- Meanwhile, down on the farm, Jarren Duran absolutely destroyed a 95 mph for a 440-foot two-run home run for the Worcester Red Sox.
As if Kelley Square needed any more challenges now it has baseballs falling from the sky.
-- And in Portland, Triston Casas continued to impress with the Sea Dogs as he hit another towering home run a night after hitting two in the game.
-- Hunter Renfroe ended the game with a highlight-reel play that caught the attention of Chavis.
"That dude is unbelievable!," Chavis excitedly said.
-- The Red Sox look to continue their win streak Friday night when they welcome Shohei Ohtani, Mike Trout and the Los Angeles Angels to town to begin a three-game set.
