BOSTON

To Boston Red Sox teammate Jonny Gomes, it doesn’t matter that Xander Bogaerts just turned 21 and had never appeared in a postseason game before this week.

“When you’re between the lines, it hides your age,” Gomes said. “It hides your draft status. It hides your contract.”

Bogaerts walked twice and scored two runs in the Game 4 clincher against Tampa Bay on Tuesday, one night after he entered as a pinch-runner and scored the tying run. In all, he has appeared two postseason games, scoring three runs with a perfect on-base percentage: 1.000.

All before his first official at-bat.

“I just went up there and tried to get on base,” said Bogaerts, who turned 21 on Oct. 1. “For me, I wanted to reach on base. I didn’t want to hit a homer.”

Next up, Bogaerts and the Red Sox will play Detroit in the AL championship series.

A highly touted prospect who was called up in August, Bogaerts is a big reason the Red Sox were willing to part with slick-fielding rookie shortstop Jose Iglesias in the trade that brought right-hander Jake Peavy to Boston. Bogaerts had 11 hits in 44 regular season at-bats, but he also walked five times and scored seven runs.

And it was in Game 4 against the Rays that he showed he was ready.

Bogaerts pinch-hit for Stephen Drew in the seventh inning and laid off a 3-2 pitch to draw a walk. He went to third on a single and scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch. He walked again in the ninth — again on a full count — took second on a wild pitch, went to third when Shane Victorino was hit by a pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly.

“You put it together and you say, ‘Those little things, they all contribute just as big as a solo home run,” said outfielder Shane Victorino, who did his part by taking two pitches off his body Tuesday night.

• Who: Detroit Tigers at
Boston Red Sox.
• Where: Fenway Park.
• When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday. • Starting pitchers:
Detroit (Anibal Sanchez
14-8) vs. Boston (Jon
Lester 15-8).
• TV: FOX.