BOSTON — Kevin Plawecki made the most of his rare lineup appearances Wednesday.
Plawecki went 4-for-5 on the day. He went 1-for-2 in Game 1 of the doubleheader at DH, with a double, and went 3-for-3 in Game 2. He also tallied a run to his name after scoring on a Jarren Duran triple in Game 2 of a seven-inning doubleheader.
“A lot of good at-bats,” said manager Alex Cora. “He put some good at-bats in New York — that ball he hit off Chapman. He can hit the fastball, we know that. But today, changeup, got a breaking ball, and he went the other way. All around, it was a great day for Kevin.”
The 30-year-old backup catcher is coming off of a stint on the injured list, and has appeared in 34 of the 103 games the Red Sox have played this season. With the ability to play some first base as well, he’s been an ideal bench-bat for Boston this season.
“We got to be careful with him, because, as you know, he was coming off the IL,” Cora said. “This sort of situation, we talk about it. Like, we can play him at first (base) tomorrow but we got to be smart. All of the sudden he’s playing at first, he is moving around, and then something happens with his legs and then we lose him.”
Plawecki has hit .300 this season (24-for-80), with an OPS of .764 off the bench. He’s blasted one homer to go along with his five RBIs, nine runs, five doubles, seven walks, and a 111 wRC+. The backup has had a strong past seven games, as he’s 8-for-16 (.500) with an OPS of 1.181.
“We’ll be smart about it,” Cora remarked. “We’re very happy with the way he’s been swinging the bat — he did a very good job behind the plate. He made a great throw when I think it was Bo, right? Bichette? He stole second but it was a great throw. We keep improving, we keep getting better, and we’re very happy with the way he’s been performing.”
(Photo by Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)