The Boston Red Sox avoided a series loss to the Cleveland Guardians, splitting the four-game set on the back of shortstop Xander Bogaerts and his vital go-ahead, three-run homer in the sixth inning.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora spoke with reporters postgame, mentioning the at-bat and Bogaerts' overall progression at the plate recently.
"He's doing a lot better, feeling better at the plate. Being able to stay back and taking his walks. That's the most important thing. When you see him start dominating the strike zone, good things are gonna happen," Cora said, as seen on NESN's postgame coverage. "We haven't had one of those in a while and we were able to breathe... at the end, we end up winning."
The clutch blast on an 0-2 pitch from Guardians pitcher Triston McKenzie, gives Bogaerts 12 home runs on an 0-2 count since 2015. That's tied for the most in Major League Baseball with none other than Boston third baseman Rafael Devers, according to Red Sox senior manager of media relations and baseball information J.P. Long.
Bogaerts also managed to improve his hitting streak to six games by going deep, giving him a homer and three doubles in his last three games.
While Boston has gotten the better end in matchups (five wins in seven games) this season against Cleveland, so has Bogaerts at the plate overall. The 29-year-old veteran batted .350 with seven hits in six games played against the Guardians.
