Jarrod Saltalamacchia Says He Was Motivated to Give Daniel Bard Run Support

by abournenesn

May 13, 2012

Jarrod Saltalamacchia Says He Was Motivated to Give Daniel Bard Run SupportBOSTON — The swing has been a work in progress for Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

Heading into Sunday's 12-1 win, the Red Sox catcher was batting .225, well short of his expectations. But Saltalamacchia finally found his stroke against the Indians, going 3-for-4 with a home run and five RBIs.

"They're just throwing me more strikes," Saltalamacchia said. "When they put it over the plate, I just do my best to put it in play and get on base."

Saltalamacchia's five RBIs was the second-highest total he posted in his career, after a seven-RBI performance on Aug. 22, 2007, as a member of the Rangers.

Saltalamacchia said after the game that he was motivated to provide starter Daniel Bard with run support.

"You want to put the runs on the board, obviously, because it makes it easier for everybody," Saltalamacchia said. "But Bardo kept us in that game. He had a little control issues with the fastball, but he was able to throw his slider and changeup for strikes to get back in the counts and make his pitches when he needed to."

As a result of Saltalmacchia's exploits, Bard was able to capture his first victory at home of the season.

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