BOSTON -- Red Sox catcher Christian Vázquez took a page out of Carlos Correa’s playbook to describe his offensive performance Wednesday afternoon.
“I’m feeling good,” Vázquez said after hitting his second home run in as many days and driving in three runs against the Rays. “I’m feeling sexy at the plate.”
Vázquez, who hit a game-tying homer in the ninth inning of Tuesday’s dramatic win, launched another ball over the Green Monster in the fourth inning to give Boston an early 3-1 lead. Boston won, 9-2, finishing off a three-game sweep against the remaining American League champions.
For Vázquez, who was in the lineup as the designated hitter against Tampa Bay lefty Ryan Yarbrough on Wednesday, the last two games have been the continuation of a hot start offensively. The 30-year-old is 8-for-19 (.421) with two homers, a double and four RBIs in six games this season. He was 2-for-4 with a homer, three RBIs and two runs Wednesday.
Making that start even more impressive is the fact Vázquez almost wasn’t ready for the Opening Day roster. The catcher was held out of the final week of spring training games after being hit in the face with an errantly thrown ball during a drill and requiring stitches for a laceration under his eye.
“He’s one of the toughest ones in that clubhouse,” said manager Alex Cora. “He wants to play every day. That catching position is a tough one and he knows it, but we had no doubt as far as him performing because his swing is very simple. It was just a matter of stamina.”
Vázquez has emerged at the plate in each of the last two seasons, setting career highs in OPS (.798 in 2019, .801 in 2020) in each of the last two seasons. He hit just 10 home runs in his first 291 big-league games from 2014 to 2018 but has now hit 32 in his last 191 games. Twenty-two of his 42 Vázquez’s career home runs have either tied the score or given the Red Sox the lead.
“I think any homer feels good, when you crush that ball,” Vázquez said. “When you hit the ball like that, it feels good anytime. Even more when you put your team ahead and we go ahead.”
Once known as a defense-first catcher, Vázquez has evolved into an all-around player for the Red Sox over the last 2+ seasons. Though he’s not being tasked with carrying the load for an offense that also includes the likes of J.D. Martinez, Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers, Vázquez has become a threat to opposing pitchers.
“When I see how people rank catchers, outside of our world, he’s the closest think to a complete package,” Cora said.
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