Red Sox Strut: Catcher Christian Vazquez, RHP Rick Porcello
By Sean Penney
Position Player Candidates
Andrew Benintendi tied for the team lead with eight hits last week, posting a .333 average and knocking in six RBI. He also swiped his 19th base of the season, leaving him one steal and one home run shy of becoming the third Red Sox rookie to join the 20/20 club.
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The highlight of the week came from Mookie Betts on Tuesday when he homered twice and tripled against the Oakland A’s, driving in six runs. That put Betts over the 20 home run mark, making him the first Red Sox hitter to post consecutive 20/20 seasons. The downside of this week came on Sunday when Betts exited early with a thumb contusion. He claims it’s not serious but even if he doesn’t miss more time it’s worth monitoring if the injury affects his swing.
A 3-for-3 performance on Tuesday convinced manager John Farrell to move Xander Bogaerts into the leadoff spot, which he’s occupied for the last five games. Bogaerts has collected five hits over that span, although four of them came in one game when the lineup exploded for 13 runs. He’s 1-for-15 at the plate in the other four games since moving to the top of the order, so it’s a bit premature to call the move a success.
Jackie Bradley went 7-for-22 (.318) last week with a pair of home runs. Both long balls, unfortunately, came in losing efforts. His two-run blast following a leadoff walk by Brock Holt broke up a no-hit bid by Jake Odorizzi in the sixth inning but would prove to be the only offense the Red Sox could muster.