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The Boston Red Sox Sunday, April 1, 2018 * The Boston Globe Xander Bogaerts stays hot, lifts Red Sox over Rays Peter Abraham ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — It was only a week into spring training when new Red Sox hitting coach Tim Hyers watched Xander Bogaerts taking batting practice and knew something had changed. Bogaerts was driving the ball into the gaps with seemingly every other swing. There was a purpose to what he was doing. “Xander had the right goals,” Hyers said. “I had talked to him a couple of times before spring training and the things he wanted to do and the adjustments he wanted to make, I couldn’t have said it better.” Bogaerts asked for guidance in how to accomplish that, but the framework was there. Working with the coaches, he modified his stance to feel stronger in his lower half so he could generate more power through the hips. That allowed him to more easily get the ball in the air, something Hyers helped emphasize by showing Bogaerts video of the aggressive swing he had as a hot-shot Double A prospect in 2012 and ’13. That Bogaerts could grip the bat how he wanted helped, too. He played the second half of last season with a badly bruised right hand after he was hit by a pitch on July 6. He hit .232 after the injury with scant power. Bogaerts too often took pitches down the middle and when he did make contact, the ball usually stayed on the ground. “We don’t ever know how that affects a player,” Hyers said. “I was injured a couple of times as a player and you do some things not to feel the pain when you swing.” Once the season started, the line drives Hyers watched in batting practice have been showing up in games. Bogaerts had three more hits on Saturday night as the Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 3-2. Bogaerts homered in the second inning and had an RBI double in the sixth. He is 8 of 12 with five doubles, a home run, and four runs scored in the first three games. “It’s just working. I just try to come in and do the same thing every day and be consistent,” Bogaerts said. “Be consistent, that’s what I’m trying to do this season a little bit better.” According to Elias Sports, Bogaerts is the second player since at least 1908 to record multiple extra-base hits in the first three games of a season. Adrian Gonzalez did it in 2015 with the Dodgers. “It’s pretty fun to watch right now,” said Rick Porcello, who allowed one run over 5⅓ innings for the win. “I don’t want to jinx him. Just keep doing you’re doing. He’s himself right now.” For all his offense, Bogaerts saved the game with his glove. With speedy Mallex Smith at first base and no outs in the bottom of the ninth, C.J. Cron hit a low line drive his way. Bogaerts briefly considered dropping the ball on purpose to start a double play. But he talked himself out of that. “As the ball was coming in [I thought], ‘Bogey, you’re not that good so just catch the ball,’ ” Bogaerts said. Bogaerts fired to first and Mitch Moreland caught the ball standing on one leg to hold the bag as Smith slid back. Smith was out and then Craig Kimbrel retired Denard Span on a popup to end the game. Bogaerts felt that play was bigger than anything he did at the plate. “The guy could have stolen [second] right there. Anything could have happened,” he said. It was the kind of night the Sox need from Bogaerts to get beyond the first round of the playoffs. At 25, he already has a World Series ring and has played in an All-Star Game. But manager Alex Cora wants Bogaerts to aspire for more “Two of my favorite players from back home [in Puerto Rico], they play shortstop and they’re elite,” Cora said, referring to Houston’s Carlos Correa and Cleveland’s Francisco Lindor. “Xander was in that conversation the last few years. All of a sudden last year, he wasn’t in that conversation. I told him, ‘I know you can be like those guys. You can be elite. It’s just a matter of keep working, keep listening, and you’ll be fine.’ ” That Cora was a shortstop and played in Boston made him easily relatable. Bogaerts has listened. “He’s probably one of the smartest guys in baseball,” Bogaerts said. “We’re thankful to have him on our team.” Beyond Bogaerts, it was a frustrating night at the plate for the Sox, who were 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position and left 10 runners on base. Cora changed the lineup, inserting Mitch Moreland, Brock Holt, and Sandy Leon. They were 0 for 9, including 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position. With a 3-0 lead, Porcello allowed a run in the sixth inning. Carlos Gomez led off with a double. Porcello struck out Brad Miller but Matt Duffy grounded a single into left field past third baseman Eduardo Nunez, who should have made the play. With Gomez at third and Porcello at 89 pitches, Heath Hembree came out of the bullpen. Joey Wendle’s sacrifice fly scored Gomez. Hembree got the first two outs of the seventh inning before Span drew a walk. Lefthander Bobby Poyner retired Kevin Kiermaier on a popup in his major league debut. Gomez homered off Poyner in the eighth inning. Carson Smith was able to get the lead to Kimbrel, leaving a runner stranded. Kimbrel has thrown 11 no-hit innings in 11 games against the Rays since the start of last season. Persistence has paid off for Hector Velazquez Peter Abraham ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Prior to last season, the Red Sox had only six players from Mexico appear in at least one game, three since 1971. While not ignored by scouts, it was a country with less attention paid to it than Japan or Australia. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski sought to change that and asked senior vice president of player personnel Allard Baird to have his staff take a deeper look. The result was Hector Velazquez, who is scheduled to face the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday afternoon. The 29-year-old righthander represents a bit of a breakthrough for the Sox. It was for Velazquez, too. He pitched eight seasons in Mexico before getting a shot at the major leagues. “I had waited a long time and tried to pitch the best I could,” Velazquez said via translator Daveson Perez on Saturday. “I was waiting for a chance and praying I would get one.” Vice president of player personnel Jared Banner saw Velazquez as a possibility after breaking down peripheral statistics from the Mexican League. Marcus Cuellar, an assistant in player personnel, was then dispatched to watch Velazquez pitch. Cuellar and another scout, Edgar Perez, saw Velazquez pitch for Mexico in the 2017 Caribbean Series and came away impressed. “No doubt about it, that helped him,” Baird said. “We had done a lot of background work prior to that point.” The Yankees also were interested, but the Sox were able to purchase Velazquez from his Mexican League team, Campeche, on Feb. 18, 2017. The cost was only $30,000. Velazquez didn’t have a choice in the matter, nor did he profit. Campeche had final say. “I wanted to go to Boston because they had shown the most interest and I told my team that,” he said. “I had to wait for them to make a deal. There was no control but they did what I wanted.” Velazquez arrived to the Sox having thrown more than 240 innings over the previous 12 months. He started 22 games for his Mexican League team then 14 more in the Mexican Winter League before pitching in the Caribbean Series. After being allowed some rest, Velazquez made his major league debut on May 18 at Oakland. Admittedly nervous, he allowed six runs in five innings and was demoted to the minors a few days later. But Velazquez returned and made seven more appearances for the Sox, two of them starts. He gave up two runs over 19⅔ innings. With Drew Pomeranz, Eduardo Rodriguez, and Steven Wright on the disabled list, Velazquez made the rotation out of spring training. “It’s a great opportunity,” Velazquez said. “It was my goal to be on the roster at the start of the season.” Pomeranz and Rodriguez could return within two weeks, so Velazquez may not be in the rotation for long. But with the Sox lacking starter depth, he is a potentially important player. Velazquez will be facing the Rays for the first time. “If we can walk him through his start to maximize his pitches, he can be really, really good,” manager Alex Cora said. What Cora means by that is thoroughly preparing Velazquez on the strengths and weaknesses of each hitter. The Sox feel he’s better being aggressive early in counts instead of trying to set hitters up. Some changes After using the same lineup the first two games, Cora went to his bench on Saturday. Brock Holt (second base), Sandy Leon (catcher), and Mitch Moreland (first base) all started. Jackie Bradley Jr., Rafael Devers, and Christian Vazquez were out of the lineup. Andrew Benintendi played center field with J.D. Martinez getting his first start in left.

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