Bogaerts' sweet stop 'better than a homer'

BOSTON -- The excellence that Xander Bogaerts provides the Red Sox on a yearly basis is so consistent that it can sometimes be taken for granted.

The veteran shortstop reminded everyone how indispensable he is at the outset of Friday’s 6-5 victory over the Mariners.

With lefty Martín Pérez on the ropes, having already allowed one run, and runners at the corners with one out, Evan White stung one up the middle that seemed to have “RBI single” written all over it.

But Bogaerts lunged for it and flipped to second baseman Christian Arroyo to start an impressive 6-4-3 double play.

“Defense is important,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “That was a great play by Bogey, a great turn by Christian.”

Known for his bat more than for his glove, Bogaerts habitually makes plays when his team needs him to.

In the bottom of the first, Bogaerts flexed with his bat instead of his glove, belting a mammoth two-run homer that soared over everything in left field to put the Red Sox ahead.

Though home runs are nice, it was the big play on defense that had Bogaerts beaming, even hours later. Bogaerts demonstrated his smarts by sizing up the first-inning play before it happened.

“That was nice,” Bogaerts said. “That was better than a homer. I know his pitch count was running up. He was battling throughout that first inning. I saw he was going to throw a fastball away so I kind of cheated up the middle, and he hit it perfectly where I was.”

That was typical Bogaerts to make such a subtle adjustment that led to what was likely the biggest play of the game.

When Bogaerts came to the plate with two outs in the first, he again sized up the moment and seized it, ripping an inside slider from Yusei Kikuchi that looked like it was in no hurry to land.

“I mean I was looking for a cutter in. I know he likes his cutter. For some reason he hung that [slider] a little bit,” said Bogaerts. “I saw it a little too long.”

Bogaerts used his quick hands to stay inside the ball and keep the drive fair.

“I don’t know how he gets to them sometimes,” said Cora. “We talk about swings and getting on the [right] plane and hitting the ball in the air. Well, he hits the ball in the air in a different way. It seems more like an old-school swing. Chop wood and get on top of the ball, but he’s such a strong guy, and he can get to whatever. There’s no limits when he can get up there, and I think there’s no limits also when he’s looking at something inside. That was a great game by him today.”

It was the continuation of a recent power surge in which Bogaerts hit his third homer in the last four games after not going deep in the first 17 games of the season.

“Just wait until it gets hot,” said Bogaerts. “I’ve seen a lot of guys this year hit balls that would’ve been homers, and they come back to the dugout pretty mad. I’ve been here a long time. So I know when it’s cold, you don’t have to try to hit homers. Just get your hits. Because you’ll be coming back to the dugout pretty much disappointed.”

It was a three-RBI night for the star shortstop, who is having a tremendous start to the season that has perhaps been overshadowed by the exploits of J.D. Martinez and Rafael Devers. Bogaerts is tied with teammate Martinez for the MLB lead with 28 hits and is hitting .378.

That is usually how it is for Bogaerts, who sort of blends into the background even though he is a front man that puts up numbers and provides stability year after year.

If the highlight reels focus more on his monster shot on Friday, Bogaerts will go to sleep thinking about his dive and quick flip to Arroyo.

“I actually would love that defensive play instead of that homer. It saved a run,” Bogaerts said. “They could’ve easily got a rally going and got a couple more, and it kind of stopped that. That was very nice. Very big.”

Very big is an apt way to describe what kind of role the 28-year-old veteran leader plays for the Red Sox. But perhaps that doesn’t even do it justice.