Weber has Roenicke's attention; Plawecki too

NORTH PORT, Fla. -- If Ryan Weber seemed comfortable under pressure against the Braves’ “A” squad on Monday night, it’s because the situation wasn’t new to him. At all.

“Every year, I’ve had to try to compete for a job,” he said following the Red Sox’s 2-1 win at CoolToday Park. “From the very first pitch of Spring Training, they all matter. For me, at least.”

The right-hander has a legitimate chance to join the rotation should he impress this spring, and it was reflected in his approach on Monday. Weber’s fastball darted and danced around the zone with some of what he acknowledged was its best movement of the spring. He buzzed it past the Braves to the tune of four strikeouts, walked none and allowed just a first-inning single in his four innings.

“Up to this point, I’ve controlled what I needed to control -- going out and pitching well -- but they make the decisions, and I’m just going to control what I can control and keep doing what I can do out on the mound,” Weber said.

“Pitching well” might be an understatement: His ERA through nine innings and three Grapefruit League starts is 0.00.

“His fastball, he moves one this way and the next one he cuts in; he’s fun to watch,” interim manager Ron Roenicke said. “He works quick. ‘Here it is,’ and the outcome has been really good so far.”

Plawecki continues to rake
Christian Vázquez’s breakout 2019 locked up his spot as Boston’s starting catcher, but who will play behind him -- a battle between Kevin Plawecki and veteran Jonathan Lucroy -- is still up for grabs.

Plawecki extended his streak of reaching base to all nine games he’s played in, thanks to a third-inning walk Monday. The 29-year-old singled to left-center in the fifth inning and now has a hit in all eight of his games with an at-bat. He finished 1-for-3, including a deep fly to left in the first inning that would’ve easily been a sacrifice fly before the 30-mph winds blew it back toward the infield.

“He’s catching really well, he’s calling a good game, he seems to really communicate well with the pitchers,” Roenicke said. “I really like everything he’s doing.

“I’m just watching him, like batting practice and games, and it’s impressive to watch him hit. His swing -- it’s short, it’s right to the ball, he hits the ball in all directions -- so he’s doing a great job.”

The strength of Plawecki’s game has long been his defense, and after signing with the Red Sox on Jan. 2, he came into spring seemingly a lock for the backup catching role. Then Boston signed Lucroy on Feb. 19, and every game for Plawecki suddenly became that much more important.

Lucroy has been a power bat in the past, but his numbers dropped over the past three seasons, which makes Plawecki’s offensive surge this spring much more crucial for him.

Plawecki ran his spring slash line to .471/.609/.471 on Monday night to heat up the competition. The Red Sox could carry three catchers on the roster, but with Vázquez playing 138 games last season, that doesn’t seem likely.

Springs, Walden sharp
With 22 pitchers in camp and many vying for a spot in the Boston bullpen, each outing carries big potential for each reliever’s case. Two of them, left-hander Jeffrey Springs and righty Marcus Walden, worked the final four innings on Monday night.

Springs had the better outing of the two, striking out two -- one of them looking -- during a tidy eighth. He allowed a single to open the bottom of the ninth, but he coaxed a double play immediately afterward and struck out Sean Kazmar swinging to earn the save.

Walden battled early control issues in the sixth, hitting Ender Inciarte with a pitch to open his outing. A passed ball by Plawecki one out later moved Inciarte to third, and he scored on Freddie Freeman’s sacrifice fly. Walden calmed down afterward, though, allowing just one single in his two innings.