The reminders of Friday's 0-for-4, three-strikeout game were still lingering Saturday. That was made to clear to Xander Bogaerts thanks to a casual conversation with a fan from Aruba just before batting practice.
Janey Croes just wanted to know what happened to her hero, who had come over to meet the fellow Aruban. Well, in a blink of an eye, right in the middle of the uncomfortable reflection, everything changed.
When Janey turned around her boyfriend of 20 years, Dave, was on one knee, executing a well-planned wedding proposal. This time Bogaerts was on-point in his execution and assistance.
"I got a friend of mine who’s a good friend of Xander,” Dave said, “and I asked him … so we just were coming here just for the first game, for the Opening Day yesterday, and I talked to him and explained what I wanted to do and he said, ‘OK, I’m gonna check with Xander.’"
He added, "It’s her first time at Fenway, we are huge Boston Red Sox fans. Our first time in Boston. So it was just, it was the moment.
It kicked off quite a reversal of fortune for Bogaerts.
Just as the questions started to mount regarding the shortstop's slow start, he offered a powerful reminder of his power, launching a 400-foot, two-run homer over the left field wall in third inning of what would be a 4-0 Red Sox win over the Twins.
And to top things off, Bogaerts hushed critics a bit thanks to a flawlessly-executed double play with Trevor Story, resulting in one of the better defensive plays of the young Red Sox season.
"It’s huge. Obviously, still searching, but he saw a fastball and put a good swing on it and he played good defense, he’s in a good spot," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of Bogaerts. "I mean, he’s not in a great spot offensively we know that but that’s what he can do. He can change the game with one swing and it was good to see him getting to that pitch and hitting it out of the ballpark."
