It was the wake-up call nobody really wanted.
COVID.
For the Red Sox, it was the tidal wave of cases and absences that the virus led to, putting the roster in a constant state of uncertainty.
For Xander Bogaerts, it was the unexpected path to an awakening.
"Before I went on the IL, I was just stressing out a lot," the shortstop said after the Sox' 9-3 win over the Orioles. "We had a lot of stuff going on with the COVID and I wasn’t playing as well for a while. I kind of was in a pretty rough spot. Being able to get the COVID, I know it was bad timing because we were in the thick of things at that moment. It kind of helped me relax a little bit more, maybe appreciate the game a lot more, and like I said, man, I love this game, this is all I do. This is what I want to do. Just being able to get that itch back to being back on the field and helping the team, I think that’s something I needed. I definitely found it, especially when we had that COVID issue going on. It was a rough couple of days with all that stuff going on."
Now that much the quarantines have come and gone, we can now see what these 10 days off in the heart of the season might have meant. For pitchers like Matt Barnes and Nick Pivetta, for instance, this could ultimately be just the unplanned respite that pays off in October.
For Bogaerts, the hiatus meant perhaps more than anyone might have known.
The player so many leaned on for stability, leadership and consistency had found himself worn down in the weeks after the All-Star break, still dealing with a wrist ailment that wouldn't go away.
The swings painted the picture. Those authoritative cuts that had put Bogaerts at the top of everyone's shortstop power rankings throughout the season's first few months were noticeably absent. The batting averages in July (.234) and August (.254) took a nose-dive, as did his ability to consistently drive the ball.
Then Saturday we were reminded why the expectations for Bogaerts are what they are.
It wasn't just the game-changing 419-foot, three-run homer. It was virtually every swing Bogaerts executed against the Orioles. It started with a 98.5 mph single, was followed with 108.8 mph line-out, which was chased by a 105.1 mph base hit. That paved the way for the homer.
Before the game, Alex Cora proclaimed that he hoped Bogaerts could rediscover his swing soon. A few hours later, there it was.
"He crushed the ball a few times," the Red Sox manager noted.
Bogaerts certainly did. The shortstop everyone had been waiting for has returned, with a brand new perspective and an all-too-familiar swing.