By Sean McAdam

Three things we learned from the Boston Red Sox' 10-3 win over the Colorado Rockies. . . 

Twice, Swihart rocketed balls into the triangle in center, and twice, he sped around the bases with a show of speed that you seldom see from a catcher.

(Yes, technically, Swihart is being deployed as an outfielder these days, but that's relatively short-term, helping to fill an immediate need. He's still regarded primarily as a catcher).

There have been some (relatively) fast catchers in recent history: Jason Kendall, Russell Martin (at least in his younger days), Joe Mauer and Craig Biggio (originally a catcher before moving to second and, eventually, the outfield).

But Swihart is fast enough to play almost anywhere on the field, which is why the Red Sox were convinced he could make the successful transition to the outfield.

"I pride myself on running,'' said Swihart. "Even when I was catching more, I pride myself on running. I wanted to be an athlete back there. I wanted be an athlete on the bases, steal bases - stuff most catchers aren't known to do. That was always my goal.''

There aren't a lot of players on the current Red Sox roster who could beat Swihart in a foot race. In fact, Mookie Betts and perhaps Brock Holt might be the only two.

For a club that leads the majors in runs scored, the Sox haven't given a lot of run support to Wright. Coming into Wednesday's start, he was averaging just over 4.5 runs of support per outing. Contrast that with, say, David Price (8.52) and Rick Porcello (7.89).

Even in the early innings, Wright didn't get any support. The Sox then got four runs in the fourth and three more in the fifth, and for a change, Wright had some cushion with which to work.

When conventional pitchers get handed big leads, they typically attack the strike zone with fastballs, able to challenge hitters. What about Wright?

"Whenever I do get a bigger lead,'' said Wright, "I start mixing in some more fastballs and curveballs. I still want to stay with my knuckleball, but I'll maybe throw a little bit more regular pitches earlier on in an at-bat. I definitely don't want to walk anyone; I want to make them hit their way on.

"I definitely think about that sometimes. The biggest thing is, I don't want to walk guys. That's my biggest pet peeve in general, let alone when you've got a big lead.''

Second baseman Dustin Pedroia came out of the game after he doubled in the fifth, more as a precaution than anything else. Pedroia felt some cramping in his right hamstring, and given that that was something that cost him about half a season last year, the Red Sox wisely decided not to take any chances.

John Farrell noted that Pedroia didn't feel any pull or even tightness -- jump some cramping, and that may have had something to do with the warm temperatures.

Both Pedroia and Farrell predicted that the second baseman will return to the lineup Thursday night.

Shortstop Xander Bogaerts had his thumbnail bent back when he applied a tag at second base in the top of the eighth, then was pinch-hit for in the bottom of the inning. Like Pedroia, he's not expected to miss any additional time.

Finally, catcher Ryan Hanigan felt some dizziness while warming up Steven Wright, and a couple of dashes around the bases, chasing after errant knuckleballs and the extreme temperatures combined to do him in in the bottom of the fourth inning.