CHICAGO -- Deven Marrero was grabbing a bite to eat late Tuesday night in the Boston Red Sox clubhouse after the best game of his major league career -- heck, maybe of his entire life -- when Chris Sale came over and extended a hand.

"To have him come up to me and say, 'Thanks for picking me up today,' " Marrero said after the Red Sox prevailed 13-7, "that was probably the best part of my day."

It wasn't a totally far-fetched scene. Marrero is a slick defender and has been filling in at third base for the Red Sox for the past two weeks. And so it was perfectly conceivable that he would make a stellar play or two to help Sale carve up his former teammates' bats 10 months after he cut up their throwback jerseys because he found them to be uncomfortable.

But the notion that Marrero would hit two home runs? Well, that was about as ludicrous as the thought of Sale getting knocked around for six runs and 10 hits and lasting only five innings in his first start against those Chicago White Sox.

Well, guess what happened.

"This game tonight delivered the unexpected," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. "Who would have thought with the two starters today [Sale and White Sox ace Jose Quintana] you'd have nearly 150 pitches thrown between them through three innings? And right equal to that is two home runs by Deven Marrero."

That's the same Deven Marrero who had the lowest OPS (.487) in the Triple-A International League last season -- and an even lower OPS than that (.389) when he was called up May 5 because the Red Sox were desperate for anyone who could actually catch the ball at third base.

Marrero hit only 17 homers in 503 games over six minor league seasons and never had two in one game. The last time he went deep twice in a game? "Probably never," he said. "Maybe high school or Little League or something -- maybe."

It isn't a stretch to say Marrero has been one of the worst hitters in professional baseball over the past two years. So, with two out and a runner on second base in the second inning, Quintana figured he could sneak a curveball by him. Instead, Marrero drove it into the left-field bleachers to give the Red Sox a 3-0 lead.

After the White Sox pulled to within 4-3 against Sale, Marrero came to the plate again in the third inning, this time with two outs and runners on first and third. Quintana got cute with another curveball, and Marrero rocketed it into the left-field bleachers again.

Surprise.

"Amazing," said center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr., who had one of the Red Sox's six homers, the most they've hit in a game since Sept. 4, 2013, when they blasted eight against the Detroit Tigers. "He's been getting it done on both sides of the ball. Tonight he hit the ball with authority."

Marrero's big night coincided with the Red Sox putting second baseman Dustin Pedroia on the disabled list because of a sprained left wrist and reinstating third baseman Pablo Sandoval.

Sandoval has been sidelined since April 25 because of a sprained knee. In the Red Sox's perfect world, he will return to the lineup, produce the way he did once upon a time with the San Francisco Giants and lock down a position that has been the team's biggest hole since 2012.

But Sandoval is hardly a sure bet, and the leash is getting shorter. Earlier Tuesday, Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski characterized Sandoval's pre-injury performance as "so-so," hardly a ringing endorsement.

If Sandoval isn't the answer, Dombrowski might have to look into a trade. White Sox third baseman Todd Frazier figures to be available and left an impression with a two-run homer against Sale in the fourth inning. Kansas City Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas also could be on the move. Ditto for Oakland Athletics infielder Jed Lowrie.

One game isn't going to make Marrero a more appealing in-house alternative to Sandoval. Before his breakout night, he was batting only .175 with a .230 on-base percentage in 21 games, a lack of production that was consistent with his struggles at the plate in Triple-A.

"I think you take back those minor league years and you just learn from them," Marrero said. "That's what I've done. Each year, I kind of learn different things about myself as a hitter and as a player."

Indeed, Marrero's value to the Red Sox this month has been as a steady hand at third base, where he has made enough plays -- from the routine to the difficult -- that Farrell no longer cringes when the ball is hit to the left side of the infield.

"He has settled our infield defense with his play down there," Farrell said. "That has been a big boost for us."

Sale wasn't the only person lined up to congratulate Marrero, who said he had 120 text messages when he returned to his locker after the game.

"More than when I got drafted," he said. "It was pretty cool."

Entirely unexpected, too.