Catcher Miguel Olivo had a career-high three hits in Saturday's victory, going 3-for-4 with a double. The 24-year-old rookie, who had Sunday off, is 5-for-12 over the last three games after ending an 0-for-12 slump.
"It was good to see him with the three hits," Manuel said. "Hopefully that's a sign of good things to come. He could be a real good force in that part of the order."
Olivo, batting .214 with one homer and two RBI, has been the Sox's No. 9 hitter. While Manuel expects him to improve as a hitter, he is pleased with how Olivo has handled himself behind the plate. He has one passed ball, and not a single runner has attempted to steal on him.
"When you have a young catcher, the thing you look for is that behind the plate he goes unnoticed," Manuel said. "If he goes unnoticed, he's doing a good job. If you begin to drop balls, passed balls, then it becomes the focal point.
"He had a passed ball the other day, but for the most part we haven't really noticed a lot of activity back there."