Happy to be home after a short and tough 1-3 road trip to Detroit, the Red Sox set new season highs Tuesday for both hits (15) and runs (8). Five Red Sox batters had multiple hits with two a piece for Dustin Pedroia, Mookie Betts, and Chris Young, and three hits for Andrew Benintendi. But the standout performance of the night belonged to catcher Christian Vázquez, who collected four hits, including a triple, and his first career stolen base.
Vazquez’ achievements Tuesday were historic, making him the first Red Sox batter to reach safely in each of his first seven plate appearances of a season since Ted Cox in 1977.
The last Sox player to match Vázquez’s stolen base and four hits to include a triple was Jacoby Ellsbury on the Fourth of July 2011 against the Blue Jays. Vázquez is now just the 12th player in franchise history since 1913 with these achievements in a 9-inning game.
Unique among catchers
Since at least 1913, no Red Sox catcher has put together the kind of game Christian Vázquez did on Tuesday. Indeed, the last Sox catcher with four hits of any kind and a stolen base in the same game was Johnny Peacock on September 21, 1938. Coincidentally, Peacock’s game that day came against the forerunners of Orioles, the St. Louis Browns. Two other Boston backstops, Gene Desautels and Rick Ferrell, had similar games in 1937 and 1935, respectively, but unlike Vasky’s, none of those other games were played at Fenway.
With his unique collection of hits and a stolen base, Tuesday’s game put Vázquez in the company of Baseball Hall of Famers Yogi Berra, Al Lopez, and Bill Dickey. Vasquez is now one of just 16 major league catchers in the past 105 seasons with 4H/3B/SB. The last was the Indians’ Andy Allanson in 1986.
Pomeranz solid in first Fenway Win
“I feel like I waited forever,” said Sox starter Drew Pomeranz of his first home win after Tuesday’s game. Pomeranz worked 6.0 solid innings allowing four Baltimore hits and one earned run with a walk and six strikeouts. He’s now 4-0 with a 1.17 ERA over his last four straight first starts of a season.
At one point Tuesday, Pomeranz sat down 12 Orioles in a row. And when Baltimore did get on base, Pomeranz held them hitless four times when they put men into scoring position. His .150 opponents’ AVG overall with runners in scoring position since the start of the 2016 season is the best such mark in the majors (minimum 100 at-bats).
More Doubles for Moreland
New Sox first baseman Mitch Moreland doubled in a fifth straight game Tuesday, extending a new career high streak for him. He’s now tied with Dave Stapleton for the club’s longest such streak by a first baseman since at least 1913.
Dustin Pedroia, meanwhile, collected his 16th career game with four or more RBI. Pedroia’s four RBI on Tuesday came over three separate plate appearances. Pedroia’s current hitting streak makes him the first Red Sox hitter to hit safely in each of the club’s first seven games since J.D. Drew hit in nine-in-a-row in 2007.