Xander Bogaerts offered his reminder to close out the third inning of what would be a 4-3 Red Sox win over the Rays.
It was 110.7 mph line-drive off the bat of Yandy Diaz that the 6-foot-2, 225-pound shortstop snatched out of the air.
“The situation, too, was big, because they had some guys on base, he smoked that ball. It caught my glove,” Bogaerts told reporters. “I just jumped up, and if it’s in, it’s in. I thought that dude was going to the wall on a double, but I got it. It’s a really nice catch.”
But that was just the appetizer. Trevor Story supplied the main course.
After kicking off his showcase of defensive efforts with a diving play on a Manuel Margot liner in the fourth inning, the second baseman took over when it counted the most, in the ninth.
With runners on first and second and nobody out in the final frame, Story ranged to his right to make a diving play of Harold Ramirez's liner for a force out at second. And then came the game-saver.
Bases loaded. Two outs. Wander Franco up. Third pitch ... 100.9 grounder headed for right field. Nope. Story ranged to his left and adeptly gathered in the game-winning play.
“I felt like I had a good bead on it the entire time,” Story told reporters. “Just a matter of if I was going to dive or slide. Franco can run. The slide and the popup was the quicker way to do it." He added, "Obviously, [I was] pretty fired up,” said Story. “I’m not swinging the bat like I want to, so I’m trying to find ways to help the team, and defense is another way.”
“He took over the ninth inning,” Bogaerts told MLB.com when it comes to Story. “I’m not even worried about him not hitting. He’s going to hit. He’s just making these spectacular plays right now with his defense and his range -- everything. He’s got it all locked down now. He’s going to hit. Trevor Story is going to hit.”
Keep in mind, this is a shortstop who has played with a lot of second baseman. In fact, there hasn't been a single player to man the position next to Bogaerts since the beginning of 2019 for more than 60 games (and that was Brock Holt). That figures to change this season.
The conversations about who will end up where won't be going away, with Bogaerts potentially leaving after this season and Story sliding back to his previous position at shortstop.
But for the here and the now, this middle infield is working.
As the pitcher - Matt Barnes - who stood on the mound for that final out said, "We’re very fortunate to have the guys we have behind us."