This story originally appeared in the Globe’s Sunday Baseball Notes. Read the rest here.
Nick Sogard has been a useful player for the Red Sox since he was called up on May 16. His sacrifice bunt Wednesday led to a six-run fourth inning against the Braves.
At a time when hitters are coached to swing as hard as they can and get the ball in the air, Sogard is proof that small ball still has a place.
It goes back to being taught how to bunt by his father, former Tufts baseball and football player Steve Sogard.
“He was a similar player to me, not a ton of home runs, and he relied on his speed,” Nick said. “One of the first things I learned in baseball was bunting.”
It runs in the family. His uncle, Steve Sax, had 75 sacrifices in his 14-year major league career. Another uncle, Dave Sax, played in the majors from 1982-87 and appeared in 28 games for the Red Sox.
One of his cousins, Eric Sogard, had 19 sacrifices and 20 bunt hits during an 11-year career in the majors.
“I feel confident to hit, but if I see the third baseman is back, I’ll try to bunt for a hit,” Nick said. “Understanding the kind of team we have now, small ball is something that can help us win games.”
Sogard has managed to appear in 71 major league games without hitting a home run. But he had 30 dingers over parts of five seasons with Triple-A Worcester. Interim manager Chad Tracy knows him well.
“Really good baseball player, high-level IQ, really good instincts, knows what he’s doing, knows when to bunt,” Tracy said.
A few other observations on the Red Sox:
▪ The Sox went into the weekend with four home runs and a league-worst 19 RBIs from their designated hitters. Only the Diamondbacks, with two, had fewer homers. As a group, Sox DHs were hitting .231 with a .654 OPS.
Andruw Monasterio, who had one home run in his previous 122 at-bats, was the DH against Sale on Thursday and actually hit fifth. He came to the plate with two runners on in the first inning and struck out, then struck out again in the third inning with two runners on, and did so again in the fifth inning with a runner on.
Monasterio started 34 games for the Brewers last season and hit eighth or ninth 26 times. In three years with Milwaukee, he started one game as a DH.
He is a helpful bench player because of his defensive versatility and righthanded bat. But he is not a player who should be hitting fifth against anyone, let alone Sale.
Yes, the Sox have Roman Anthony and Trevor Story on the injured list and that has complicated lineup construction for Tracy. But how has an organization that had David Ortiz and J.D. Martinez take a huge percentage of its DH at-bats from 2003-22 gotten to this point?
▪ The Braves were impressed at what they saw from 35-year-old journeyman reliever Tyron Guerrero, who was called up on May 22.
“His stuff moves all over the place,” Atlanta hitting coach Tim Hyers said. “He’s tough to square up.”
Inconsistent mechanics and poor command have limited Guerrero’s major league time. He made 112 appearances for the Marlins from 2018-19 but has otherwise bounced around.
Closer Aroldis Chapman is a believer and is working with Guerrero to improve his pregame routine and get stronger.
Then there’s this: Guerrero was known as “Tayron” for most of his career before it was corrected to “Tyron” by the Sox when he was called up.
▪ James Fagnant, the son of Red Sox New England area scout Ray Fagnant, was named the New England NJCAA Division 2 Player of the Year.
Fagnant hit .480 with 14 doubles, 5 home runs, and 27 stolen bases for UConn Avery Point. He is playing for New Britain in the Futures League this summer and hopes to land a spot with a four-year program.
Peter Abraham can be reached at peter.abraham@globe.com. Follow him on Bluesky at peteabeglobe.bsky.social.