TORONTO — Red Sox rookie catcher Carlos Narváez’s 926 innings behind the plate this season is 360 ⅔ innings more than he’s ever caught in one season in pro ball.
“I feel great,” Narváez said. “I’m the type of person the more I play, the better I feel. And this time of the year is not the time to feel tired or whatever, you know what I mean? We got five more left.”
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Narváez broke his 0-for-17 slump with a two-run double in the sixth inning. He helped the Red Sox win 4-1 over the Blue Jays in the opener of a crucial three-game series at Rogers Centre.
“Of course I was thinking a little bit about that,” Narváez said about his 0-for-17 streak. “But like I always say, my job is behind the plate. So it was big-time at-bat, big-time hit for me and for the team.”
Narváez said he’s been feeling good at the plate.
“The swings were there. Just missing a little bit,” he said.
Starter Lucas Giolito called Narváez’s two-run double “massive.” It came in the sixth inning right after Nathaniel Lowe’s RBI single put Boston ahead 2-1.
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“Knock (Kevin) Gausman out of the game and take a more commanding lead,” Giolito said. “Huge for us. It kind of relieves a bit of the pressure on all the guys coming in (from) the pen. And so we were able to just kind of do our thing and get a good win to start the series.”
The Red Sox (86-71) remain in the second AL Wild Card spot, one game ahead of the Tigers and one and a half games ahead of the Astros. Houston will play the Athletics at 10:05 p.m. eastern time.
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Giolito threw 98 pitches in just 4 ⅔ innings. He limited damage, though, allowing one run on three hits and four walks while striking out three. His 49 four-seam fastballs averaged 92.1 mph, which is down from his season average of 93.3 mph.
“It wasn’t good. It wasn’t pretty. But at this point, winning games is all that matters,” Giolito said. “I don’t care if I get a win. I don’t care if I go whatever amount of innings. At this point, it’s about winning these games, getting into the postseason. I obviously didn’t have much to work with tonight. So it was a grinder. It was a battle.”
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Relievers Justin Wilson, Garrett Whitlock, Justin Slaten and Aroldis Chapman combined for 4 ⅓ scoreless and hitless innings.
“Really credit to the bullpen coming in and really shutting it down after me,” Giolito said.
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