FORT MYERS, Fla. — Every season a minor leaguer rises from obscurity to emerge as one of the heroes of spring training, and Tuesday infielder Nick Sogard took a step towards staking his claim.
Sogard, a 26-year-old utility player who played all of last season in Triple-A, hit his second home run of the spring and drove in all three runs in the Red Sox eventual 3-3 draw against the St. Louis Cardinals. He hit the go-ahead two-run homer to put Boston up in the top of the sixth, followed that with a sacrifice fly his next time up in the top of the seventh, and wrapped up his day with a double to finish 2 for 2 with three RBI.
Sogard also hit a two-run shot in Monday’s 7-6 win over the Phillies, and in just a few days he’s already demonstrated more power than he’d ever displayed in the minors. Last season he hit seven home runs in 112 games with the Worcester Red Sox, and overall his career high is 13 in 2021 with High-A Greenville.
Pablo Reyes, who got the start at second and has played all over the diamond so far this spring, also had a big day at the plate, going 2 for 2 to improve his average to .600 on the spring. Ceddanne Rafaela went 1 for 2 with a strikeout and a stolen base, though he was also picked off at second to end the top of the first inning, and Bobby Dalbec went 1 for 3.
Crawford strong in debut
So far all of Boston’s starters have performed well in their first spring outings, and Kutter Crawford was no exception on Tuesday. The 27-year-old allowed one run over two innings, giving up three hits and no walks while striking out one. He threw 32 pitches and the lone run came courtesy of an RBI double by Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras.
Tuesday also marked the spring debut of new Cardinals ace Sonny Gray, who threw two scoreless innings while allowing two hits and two walks with two strikeouts.
Slaten impresses
Acquired in a trade immediately following his selection in the Rule 5 Draft, Justin Slaten was heralded for his overpowering stuff and ability to rack up strikeouts in the minor leagues. So far the 26-year-old right-hander has acquitted himself nicely with the big league club, and on Tuesday he posted his second straight scoreless outing, this time striking out two with no hits or walks allowed.
Slaten’s fastball averaged 95.3 mph and maxed out at 96.2, and of the 14 pitches he threw Slaten got either a whiff or a called strike on seven of them.
Left-hander Brandon Walter also had a nice showing with two scoreless innings and two strikeouts, righty Isaiah Campbell worked around a walk and a hit to post a scoreless sixth and righty Justin Hagenman pitched a perfect seventh. Lefty Helcris Olivarez had a rocky eighth, allowing one run on two hits while hitting a batter and committing a disengagement violation, but got a double play to escape the jam without further incident.
Song struggles
Few baseball players have ever followed a journey like Noah Song. Once viewed as a potential first-round talent, Song wound up spending four years away from the game to fulfill his U.S. Naval obligations. He received a waiver that allowed him to return to the field last year, and after an ill-fated attempt by Philadelphia to take him in the Rule 5 Draft and shotgun him straight to the majors, he’s now back with the Red Sox trying to develop at a more appropriate pace.
Still, there will be growing pains, as became evident in the ninth inning Tuesday.
Though Song touched 94 mph on the radar gun, a significant improvement from where he sat last year, his command was all over the place. He walked three batters in the bottom of the ninth, including one with the bases loaded to tie the game, while also allowing a single and throwing a wild pitch before he was pulled with two outs. Minor leaguer Garrett Ramsey got the final out to salvage the 3-3 draw.
Song is undeniably talented, but he still has a long way to go.
Next up
The Red Sox will play the second game of their two-day road trip Wednesday against the Washington Nationals. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m.