Alex Cora Credits Xander Bogaerts For Changing Red Sox With This Swing

BOSTON -- Xander Bogaerts made impact plays throughout his 10-year career with the Red Sox. He helped the ballclub win two championships during his tenure with several key moments along the way.

That storied career is back on the minds of many in Boston as Bogaerts returns as a visitor with the San Diego Padres.

His former manager has one moment that stands out: Bogaerts' two-run home run in the first inning of the 2021 American League Wild Card Game at Fenway Park against the New York Yankees.

XANDER BOGAERTS PUTS THE RED SOX ON TOP 💥 pic.twitter.com/aPmYrfnqMm

— ESPN (@espn) October 6, 2021

In the latest postseason installment of the rivalry, Bogaerts brought the crowd to life with a blast off of Yankees ace Gerrit Cole.

"That home run changed the whole night," Alex Cora told reporters at Fenway Park on Friday. "This place was as loud as ever. We worked so hard before that game just trying to find something on Cole. Sequencing, tipping, how he used his fastball. He had a game plan and he executed. Slider for a ball, changeup for a strike and he didn't miss it."

The Red Sox needed to start that game with a statement. In the final regular season meeting, the Yankees swept Boston as Giancarlo Stanton became a one-man wrecking crew at the plate.

Boston had the counter in the postseason meeting when Nathan Eovaldi pitched a scoreless first inning that led to Bogaerts' homer.

"I know a lot of people made a big deal of those three games," Cora explained. "They hit Nate (Eovaldi). We cleaned up a few things. We felt good about it. Obviously, the swing changed maybe how they were thinking about us."

That play stands out in Bogaerts' memory, though he chose a different swing that he placed at the top of his Red Sox career.

"I wouldn't say that's the best moment of my career," Bogaerts shared with media on Friday. "Probably the best one was the 2013 World Series (in Game 3). The eighth-inning base hit off of (Trevor Rosenthal) to tie the game. I always consider that the biggest hit of my career so far."

Bogaerts hit. 296 that postseason as a 20-year-old rookie. That October showed that he held the poise to grow into a star role in the big leagues with the Red Sox. Eight years later, he got the Red Sox rolling on what became an improbable run to the American League Championship Series.

"The Wild Card game was a good one," Bogaerts added. "Probably the loudest I've heard at Fenway, to be honest with you because of Red Sox-Yankees. One game and the loser goes home."

"This place was awesome," Cora added. "It was the loudest it had been. Until we played the (Tampa Bay) Rays."

The 2021 homer, among several plays, will surround Bogaerts as he steps back inside the hallowed walls of Fenway Park for the first time since his final game in 2022.