Red Sox catcher comes up big in rare pinch-hit opportunity

BOSTON — It was only the fifth inning Monday afternoon when Alex Cora decided to go for it.

With the Red Sox locked in a back-and-forth rock fight of a game with the Cleveland Guardians, the bases loaded and the score tied at 3-3, Cora didn’t like the matchup of the lefthanded-hitting Nathaniel Lowe against Cleveland lefty reliever Erik Sabrowski.

He decided to pinch-hit, which was something of a surprise, given how early it was in the game. But even more of a surprise was his choice to bat.

Cora turned to catcher Carlos Narvaez, an option he might not have otherwise utilized had the Red Sox not added a third catcher, Ali Sanchez, to their active roster Monday morning. Sanchez’s presence provided Cora with some insurance in the event that something happened later in the game to starting catcher Connor Wong.

The call paid off as Narvaez lined a single to right, scoring two baserunners and giving the Red Sox a lead they would not relinquish in their 6-4 triumph.

But the choice of Narvaez was an odd one, starting with the fact that Narvaez had just four previous pinch-hit appearances — each of them unsuccessful — in the big leagues, and what he estimated was no more than a handful of opportunities over seven minor league seasons.

(That stands to reason. First, rosters are smaller in the minors and pinch-hitting opportunities are rare. Secondly, teams are reluctant to pinch-hit a catcher out of fear that such a move could leave a team shorthanded).

“He’s going to put the ball in play,” reasoned Cora of his decision to use Narvaez, “and his numbers against lefties are really good. Plus, we’ve got three catchers now and we can do that early in the game.”

Narvaez, despite his relative inexperience in the role, was prepared.

“Especially in September, you’ve got more guys on the bench, so you’ve got to be ready,” he said. “As soon as was the game was close, with their lefty (warming) in the pen before he was on the mound, you’ve got to be ready at some point.

“(Cora) told me like five minutes before (that he might be called upon to hit).”

Narvaez has great respect for those who are asked to come off the bench and hit in a big situation.

“Let me tell you — it’s not an easy thing,” said Narvaez. “I really admire those guys. I’m just thinking about (Rob Refsnyder) or Romy (Gonzalez) earlier in the year, they had a lot of pinch hits. It’s not an easy thing. Those guys do it perfectly. It’s pretty awesome.

“The (biggest) thing about it is to be ready mentally. That’s the most important thing because the swing is there. Being mentally (locked in), especially in those moments because it’s going to be a high-leverage moment.”

Once Narvaez put the novelty of the assignment aside, it was time to focus on the task at hand.

“He got to two strikes on me quickly,” Narvaez said, “and as soon I saw that, it was, ‘OK, let me get back to my approach.’ ‘’

After taking a first-pitch strike, Narvaez fouled off two more pitches and was down in the count 0-and-2. He decided to shorten up swing with two strikes and try to hit the ball the other way.

“After the first swing, I was ready to go the other way,” he said.

The approach worked to perfection, as he drove a single to right, delivering both Refsnyder and Nate Eaton.

At which point, Cora’s decision didn’t seem so unorthodox after all.