Carlos Narvaez considered bunting before hitting key homer for Red Sox in win over Yankees
Red Sox catcher Carlos Narvaez made his return to Yankee Stadium over the weekend, and had one of the biggest swings for Boston in Sunday night's 11-7 victory in the Bronx. It was a swing that almost didn't happen.
Narvaez went yard in the top of the sixth, smacking a three-run shot off Yankees starter Carlos Rodon to put the Red Sox ahead, 5-3. It was part of a five-run inning for Boston, and the Red Sox ended up taking two out of three from the first-place Yankees in the weekend set.
It was a special moment for Narvaez, who spent nearly a decade as a Yankees prospect before he was acquired by the Red Sox over the offseason. Boston swung a trade for Narvaez shortly after prospect Kyle Teel was dealt away in the package for ace Garrett Crochet, though his acquisition didn't garner much attention at the time.
Narvaez has been great for Boston since he arrived. He won a spot on the Opening Day roster as the backup backstop to Connor Wong, and took over as Boston's everyday catcher when Wong was lost to a finger injury in April.
The 26-year-old has been one of the bright spots on a disappointing Red Sox team so far. He's become Boston's everyday cleanup hitter and through 50 games, Narvaez is now slashing .282/.361/.459 with six homers, 12 doubles, 22 RBI, and 28 runs scored.
But his big swing Sunday night almost didn't happen for a couple of reasons.
First up, Boston manager Alex Cora nearly sat Narvaez for the series finale after he caught the first two games. He was 0-for-6 with three walks in the first two games, so Cora considered giving him a rest.
Instead, he let Narvaez play and it paid off in a big way.
"He put together some good at-bats, went the other way, worked the count and he pulled it in the air and that was a huge one for us," Cora said of Narvaez's homer.
Second, Narvaez considered bunting when he initially stepped to the dish. Rafael Devers and Rob Refsnyder were on base with no outs, and Narvaez thought about moving them over with a bunt. He even discussed the approach with third-base coach Kyle Hudson before his at-bat.
"I was like, 'OK, I'm just going to be aggressive.' And then that happened," Narvaez explained. "I found myself in a two-strike approach, just put the ball in play. I'm happy I found some barrel and then we came back and won the game."
Falling behind in the count was the best thing that could have happened to Narvaez, whose homer went 372 feet to left field and sparked the Boston comeback. For the former Yankees prospect, going yard against his old team -- and having the blast play a big part in the victory -- made for an evening he won't soon forget.
"Something special, but more because we found a way to get back in the game," said Narvaez. "The homer was huge for us."
