On a night the Red Sox were winning their fifth straight game, increasing the lead over Tampa Bay to two games, perhaps the most interesting stuff was transpiring over at Polar Park.
It started earlier in the day with the seemingly innocuous image Franchy Cordero taking ground balls at first base well before first pitch.
According to a team source, Cordero has been working out at the new position for a few days with an eye on manning the spot in a real game in the not-too-distant future.
For Cordero, it's not a total square-peg-round-hole kind of situation considering he lived life as a shortstop before easing into the outfield as a minor-leaguer with the Padres.
“He was pretty athletic for a guy his size. He didn’t profile as a shortstop," former Red Sox scout Johnny DiPuglia told WEEI.com in March. (It should be noted that when the Red Sox worked out Cordero he appeared more comfortable as an infielder than an outfielder.)
But he might profile as a left-handed-hitting first baseman, which would be just what the doctor ordered for the Red Sox who are seemingly looking for a complement to Bobby Dalbec at the position.
Even though it is just Triple-A, Cordero looks like a new man than the one we last saw in the majors. With the WooSox he has hit .386 with a 1.158 OPS with 10 doubles and six homers, lowing his strikeout rate by nine percent.
As Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom told The Athletic's Jen McCaffrey, “Versatility is a plus for almost everyone. He started out as an infielder, so no harm in taking a look.”
Then the game started and that's when the notable snapshots started popping up.
There was two more home runs from Jarren Duran, giving him 15 on the season. With the WooSox, the outfielder is hitting .282 with a .988 OPS
Then there was Tanner Houck.
Making his third start since coming back from his flexor ailment, the righty gave up two runs over four innings, allowing three hits while striking out four. Since returning, he has struck out 16 and walked just one in 10 2/3 innings.