A skeptical Alex Bregman swings ‘torpedo’ bat in test against the Orioles

BALTIMORE —Amidst the hype about the Yankees’ “Torpedo” bats, Alex Bregman received one from the Marucci bat company.

“We’ll see if I end up using it or not,” Bregman said before the Red Sox’ 3-0 victory over the Orioles Wednesday night, after he’d had his first shot at hitting with the bat – which features both a larger barrel (to the MLB limit of 2.61 inches) that is both slightly longer and closer to the handle than typical bats and a narrowing top of the bat to ensure a normal weight distribution.

Bregman, who went 1 for 4 with a single, downplayed the significance of his choice of lumber.

“I don’t really think it’s the bat. It’s not like anybody using it [is going to hit homers]. It’s the guy,” said Bregman.

That said, Bregman did indeed use it in the game. He flied out to left in his first at-bat and singled in his second.

Bregman had a scrape on the bridge of his nose, the result of a faceplant following a shovel pass on an attempted force play at second base on Monday.

He had ranged far to his left and attempted the backhand flip while off-balance. He got rid of the baseball, but his hands couldn’t stop his fall, and Bregman head-butted the dirt after ridding himself of the ball.

While Bregman said his nose was fine, he compared the impact of his face on the dirt to a car crash, resulting in soreness in his neck.

Alex Speier can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @alexspeier.

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