JUPITER, Fla. -- The Red Sox are hoping what they saw out of Triston Casas on Tuesday night is repeated throughout the regular season.

The young slugger crushed a left-on-left homer off Marlins southpaw Dax Fulton as part of a big showing at Roger Dean Stadium, starring in Boston's 7-2 win over Miami. The No. 2 prospect in the Red Sox organization per MLB Pipeline (and No. 23 overall) also added a run-scoring single off Trevor Rogers, with all of the left-handed-hitting Casas’ damage coming off left-handed pitching.

"Overall, today was a good offensive day," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. "It was a good effort by the kids."

It was the type of performance the Red Sox have long envisioned from Casas, whom they cleared the way for at first base this winter by cutting ties with Eric Hosmer. The 23-year-old is a legitimate preseason American League Rookie of the Year candidate, after holding his own in a 27-game debut down the stretch last season. His swings Tuesday night showed why.

Taking advantage of a good hitter’s situation in his second at-bat, Casas drove Rogers’ 1-0 sinker through the middle of the field to plate Greg Allen (3-for-3, two runs) in the third. He capitalized on a mistake in his next at-bat, turning on a hanging 2-2 slider from Fulton and depositing it out near the flagpoles beyond the right-field wall. 

"It was a good at-bat, to work the count and get a hanging breaking ball," Cora said. "He put a good swing on it."

A two-strike homer, left-on-left? That’s the kind of thing that qualifies as a good sign -- especially for a young hitter -- early in the Grapefruit League.

Cat on the run
An unticketed visitor caused a stir in the top of the seventh inning, when a stray cat sped across the field and briefly tumbled into the Red Sox dugout. NESN’s Tom Caron had to leave his seat in the dugout to avoid the animal as it leapt off the dugout railing.

"Reporting from the scene of the action here, we’ve got a cat that almost found its way into my hair," Caron reported on the broadcast, amid laughter. 

The cat eventually escaped into the stands, and play quickly resumed. 

Kluber’s debut
Tuesday’s nightcap also gave the Red Sox got their first look at offseason addition Corey Kluber, who logged two scoreless innings in his spring (and Boston) debut. The veteran worked around two hits (including a leadoff double in the second inning), struck out one and did not issue a walk, throwing 18 of his 26 pitches for strikes.

In short, the former Cy Young Award winner’s debut in a Boston uniform was workmanlike and routine. The Red Sox added Kluber on a one-year, $10 million free-agent deal this winter to shore up their rotation depth, with the 36-year-old coming off his first fully healthy season since 2018. 

"He went through his progression, threw strikes, got weak contact," Cora said. "Now we’ll move on to the next one."

Kluber is scheduled to throw three innings in his next start, on Sunday against Miami at home. 

Stat corner
Who doesn’t love Spring Training stats? In a Grapefruit League quirk, Tuesday’s win was the first by the Red Sox in their last 10 spring games against the Marlins, dating back to 2012 (0-9-1).