Jed Lowrie entered Sunday with just five hits in 46 at-bats while hitting left-handed, good for a .109 average, .157 OBP and .152 slugging mark. The ongoing discomfort in his wrist as he continues to recover from surgery in April often has rendered his palte appearances against right-handed pitchers a struggle, leading to questions about whether he can serve a reliable postseason role.

But in the bottom of the sixth inning of the Sox’ 12-7 win, Lowrie showed an ability to battle and produce against a hard-throwing right-hander. He fell behind Indians reliever Chris Perez, 1-2, before fouling off a pair of mid-90s fastballs.

Then, when he got a 95 mph belt-high fastball on the inner half of the plate, he turned on it. Lowrie had choked up to make his swing more compact, and he wasn’t able to follow through on the swing due to the persistent pain when he takes his left-handed cuts. Still, he squared it so solidly enough to pull it into the visitor’s bullpen for a grand slam, the first of Lowrie’s career.

“I have been taking stronger swings from the left side the last couple days. That’s not to say that it was without pain,” said Lowrie. “It worked out great on that swing, but it’s not my swing. It’s not how I normally swing. I have to make that adjustment [on the follow-through] when it’s not feeling that great.”

Even so, the ability to adapt his game and play through pain offered a suggestion that Lowrie is almost certainly the Sox’ best option as a backup utility infielder for the Division Series. With Nick Green’s efforts to return to the field “stuck in neutral,” in the words of Francona, Lowrie offered his most significant evidence of an ability to contribute if given the opportunity.