The outfielder went 3 for 4 to raise his spring training average to .519.
Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester throws in the first inning Monday at Jupiter, Fla. Lester threw five sharp innings against the Marlins, allowing a first-inning run and three hits, and retiring the last 11 batters he faced.
JUPITER, Fla. – What Miami’s Christian Yelich did on the final pitch Monday, Boston’s Jackie Bradley Jr. did on the game’s first: He homered off Kevin Slowey’s offering, and reached base four times.
Bradley Jr. went 3 for 4 to raise his average to .519 (14 for 27). The outfielder added an RBI double in the fourth inning of an 8-7 Red Sox loss.
“As we get further into camp and pitchers are getting their timing down, he’s still taking great swings and making good contact,” Red Sox manager John Farrell said.
The loss spoiled Jon Lester’s five sharp innings in which he allowed a first-inning run and three hits. He struck out four and retired the last 11 batters he faced.
“I feel pretty good, but I don’t want to have everything clicking right now. I kind of want to build it up to that first start,” Lester said. “I feel good, and that’s the main thing.”
Boston reliever Rubby De La Rosa gave up five runs, four walks and two hits in two-thirds of an inning. He threw 36 pitches and walked in two runs.
Yelich, meanwhile, is making the Marlins think about his role this year.
He is hitting .375 this spring with three homers and 11 RBIs in 14 games, including a two-run homer with two outs in the ninth that lifted Miami to its walk-off win.
“Hopefully I’m leaving a good impression, obviously,” Yelich said. “I have no idea what’s going to happen. It’s completely out of my control.”
Yelich and Miami’s top overall prospect, right-hander Jose Fernandez, both came to spring training projected to start the season at Double A.
Marlins hitting coach Tino Martinez recently said about Yelich, “He’s ready.”
Rookie manager Mike Redmond defers to his bosses when asked if Yelich could be on the opening-day roster.
“They might come down and tell me to quit playing him,” Redmond said with a laugh. “It’s fun to get him in there. You feel like any situation he comes up, he’s got a chance to do something, and he hits a home run to dead center to win it.”
Even if Yelich is ready to break camp with the big-league club, the Marlins may hold him back until late April to gain an extra year before he’s eligible for free agency. If he was held back until about June, Miami would likely get an extra year before Yelich is eligible for arbitration.
The 21-year-old was Miami’s first-round pick in 2010. The 6-foot-4, 189-pound left-handed hitter grew up in Thousand Oaks, Calif. A corner infielder in high school, he moved to the outfield in the minors and has been tabbed the Marlins’ center fielder of the future.