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Xander Bogaerts started his first big-league game on the national stage on Sunday against the Dodgers, courtesy of ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball. He didn't disappoint, picking up his first major-league RBI and extra-base hit in one fell swoop, on the first pitch he saw from Dodgers starter Chris Capuano in his second at-bat.
Like he did with his first big-league hit while pinch-hitting on Saturday, Bogaerts saw a pitch to the outside and went with it, smacking it the other way:
He got a little help on the RBI part of things thanks to that outfield bobble, but Red Sox third baseman Will Middlebrooks did his part by charging home to beat the throw to make it 3-0 Boston:
Since it was an ESPN telecast, they have fancy slow-motion replay technology. Since this is the internet, that fancy slow-motion replay technology is now an endless, looping GIF where you get to watch Bogaerts move his arms to make sure the fat part of the bat strikes the ball to send it other way with some muscle behind it:
We expect there to be many more where these came from, but this right here is the start of something.