The Boston Red Sox completed a sweep of the Oakland Athletics thanks in large part to the battery of Rich Hill and Christian Vázquez.
Hill threw six innings, allowing just one run on three hits and struck out five with Vázquez behind the plate Sunday afternoon at Oakland Coliseum.
After the game, Hill spoke about Vázquez’s development from the minors to now, as an everyday starting catcher amid a strong season offensively and behind the dish.
“He’s been incredible,” Rich Hill said, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “He’s an unbelievable personality. He has fun playing the game. And, getting a chance to see him years back during a rehab assignment in A-ball I believe it was, and just seeing him make the transition from Single-A, Double-A, Triple-A into the big leagues and become who he is today in the big leagues has been special.
Hill is in his third stint with Boston, and likely is referring to his first time as a Red Sox, which was 2010-2012. At the time, Vázquez was a minor league prospect. Hill has watched his backstop blossom and is very appreciate of his battery-mate’s development.
The Red Sox will strive to exceed a .500 record Monday against the Los Angeles Angels in Angel Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 9:38 p.m. ET following an hour of pregame coverage, and you can watch it all on NESN.
