What ‘Fired Up’ Alex Verdugo Before Red Sox’s Win Over Dodgers

Alex Verdugo didn’t expect to have an opportunity to make Red Sox history Saturday at Fenway Park.

Verdugo entered the middle game against the Dodgers red-hot, logging 12 hits over his last five games. The talented outfielder knew he’d be back in Boston’s starting lineup Saturday, but with a left-hander on the bump for Los Angeles, Verdugo didn’t think he would occupy the leadoff spot.

But sure enough, manager Alex Cora designated Verdugo to set the table for the Red Sox, and the decision paid off. The 27-year-old smacked a game-tying, first-inning home run off Julio Urías, which marked Verdugo’s third straight contest with a leadoff round-tripper. No other player in Boston history has accomplished that feat.

Verdugo didn’t make much of rewriting the Red Sox record book, but he did offer some candor about his batting position and the impact it had on his psyche.

“I was surprised to lead off,” Verdugo told reporters after Boston’s 8-5 win, per MassLive’s Sean McAdam. “I expected to be in there and I told (Cora) I wanted to be in there. But I just didn’t know where he was going to go with the lineup. But once I saw that I was leading off, man, it just fires me up. I’m somebody who still feels that I can hit lefties and have good at-bats against them. The outcome may not always be there, but the process of it and working pitchers, I feel like I do a good job.”

The Dodgers are expected to send out another southpaw — Caleb Ferguson — to start Sunday’s series finale. But with the way Verdugo is rolling at the dish, Cora probably shouldn’t feel inclined to make any changes to the leadoff spot.