McAdam: Right from the start, Xander Bogaerts makes his mark on both sides of the ball

Sometimes, a game can go right down to the final out in the final inning, as Friday's game most unexpectedly did for the Red Sox.

Sitting on what appeared to be a comfortable four-run lead heading into the ninth, the Red Sox summoned closer Matt Barnes for the final three outs, as much to get some work as anything else. But a walk, a one-out bloop single and a three-run homer into the right-field seats by Kyle Seager made the Red Sox 6-5 win over the Seattle Mariners far squirmier than anticipated.

Sometimes, too, impact plays that take place early can dictate how the rest of the game goes.

Case in point Friday night: Xander Bogaerts.

In the top of the first inning, starter Martin Perez was in the process of digging himself a hole when Bogaerts lent a hand to pull him out. The Mariners had a run in and two runners on as Evan White came to the plate. Already reeling, Perez could not afford any more trouble.

"I knew his pitch count was running up and he was kind of battling throughout that first inning,'' said Bogaerts of Perez. "I saw he was going to throw a fastball away, so I kind of cheated up the middle and (White) hit it perfectly where I was. That was nice. Saved a run. Obviously, I would like to make a couple more of those.''

Bogaerts traditionally is not well regarded when defensive metrics come into play. He lacks the range of some shortstops and focuses more on converting the balls he does get into outs. He's defensively efficient, if hardly spectacular.



But Bogaerts has played long enough and has the kind of baseball intelligence to help him compensate, and moving a step or two in anticipation may well have saved Perez both some runs, and who knows, perhaps an early exit. As it was, Bogaerts made a sprawling stop of the smash by White, flipped to Christian Arroyo, who in turn relayed to first to cinch the inning-ending double play.

Bogaerts, however, was far from done.

After flashing his glove in the top of the inning, he went to work with the bat in the bottom of the inning. With Alex Verdugo at first and two out, Bogaerts sat in anticipation of cutter in from Mariners lefty Yusei Kikuchi.

"He likes his cutter,'' said Bogaerts, "but for some reason, he hung a curveball a little bit. I saw it a little bit too long.''

Bogaerts crushed the breaking ball over everything in left, wiping out the 1-0 lead the Mariners had just finished building. The Red Sox wouldn't trail again.

The homer was his third in the last four nights after the shortstop failed to hit a single home through the first 17 games. He blamed his power outage on the mostly cold weather that has chilled Fenway through the first couple of homestands.

It hasn't exactly turned hot this past week, but Bogaerts certainly has.

And as the longest-tenured Red Sox player, Bogaerts knows better than to fight the elements early in the season, since it only leads to frustration.

"I've been here a long time, so I know when it's cold, you don't have to try to hit any homers,'' he said with a knowing smile. "You just try to get your hits, because you'll be coming back to the dugout pretty much disappointed. But that one I hit today, I knew it was cool and windy and I knew I got it good, but I was still doubting. I ran out of the box pretty hard.''

That was needless worry on his part. Bogaerts' blast was measured at 409 feet and managed to sail over the ball wall of the Monster Seats in left.

Though he's hit 20 or more three times in his career -- and was on pace to do so again last year in a shortened season -- Bogaerts knows well enough by now to not swing for the fences. He's an accomplished hitter, with the ability to barrel pitches up in the zone, or even those in on his hands.

They'll come, he knows, and this week, for whatever reason, the dam has broken.

"None of the homers I hit (this week) was I (trying to hit),'' he said. "Sometimes, in some at-bats later in the game, you might (be trying). But none of these were, which is good. You don't have to go out and get them, because that's what gets you in a lot of trouble.''

Before the second inning, Bogaerts had the satisfaction of contributing both defensively and offensively. As the game wore on, the significance of his run-saving play in the field only grew in importance.

"That play in the first inning was really nice,'' Bogaerts acknowledged. "And the timing. We haven't been as playing as good at home, so getting Martin out of that trouble in the first inning was huge. That kind of set the momentum. It could have gotten out of hand in a hurry.''

Instead, the Sox had grabbed control, and held it until the end.