Jose Iglesias Doing Everything in August

He is still making ridiculous defensive plays every night at shortstop, but, lately, Jose Iglesias is also contributing at the plate on a regular basis.

Since the start of August, Iglesias is batting .320 -- so is PawSox masher, Mauro Gomez. In 13 games this month, the Cuban leads the club with five doubles, and, with five walks, is on pace to set a monthly-high in that category as well (he had eight in April).

"I told myself to relax at the plate and stop focusing so much on the results," Iglesias said. "I've had months where I've hit the ball really hard, but have just hit it to the wrong spots and haven't gotten hits."

After finishing 2-for-4 Tuesday night against Scranton-Wilkes/Barre, Iglesias extended his hitting streak to nine games (15-for-39) and is also riding a 13-game on-base streak.

"By hitting more doubles, he's opening the field up," said PawSox manager, Arnie Beyeler. Opposing infields aren't able to tighten up as much when they know there's a chance he'll hit a double."

Iglesias was on pace for one of the best offensive months of his career this May when he hit .341 with a home run and nine RBI over 20 games. Unfortunately, a lower back injury ended his month early and put him on the disabled list from May 26 - June 25.

When talking about Iglesias' batting average, runs batted in, etc., it's important to remember how many runs he saves and how many hits he takes away from the opposing team because of his remarkable defense. As PawSox starter Chris Hernandez said, "I know that every night I'm on the mound, Jose is going to give me 100% effort on every ball put in play."