CHICAGO -- Blake Swihart pinch hit for Sandy Leon during the seventh inning here Thursday. He delivered an RBI single to cut the Red Sox's deficit to 4-1. Boston ended up tying the game during the seventh.

The Red Sox then scored five runs in the ninth to win 9-4 over the White Sox. Swihart drew a walk with one out in the ninth right before Jackie Bradley Jr.'s go-ahead RBI single.

It marked the second straight game Swihart made a significant impact off the bench. He stroked a pinch-hit RBI single to cut the Red Sox's deficit to 5-4 on Wednesday. That hit was part of an 11-run seventh-inning rally.

Swihart also delivered an RBI double later in the seventh inning as Boston won 14-6 over the Marlins on Wednesday.

Why wait until the seventh inning for his impact though? Swihart should be starting more games. He should be the No. 1 catcher even with Christian Vazquez likely returning Saturday. He has proved he's more than capable both offensively and defensively.

He's batting .323 (21-for-65) with a .371 on-base percentage, .462 slugging percentage and .833 OPS in 25 games since July 1.

"It's cool to see," Brock Holt said about Swihart's strong play.

Holt can relate well to Swihart.

Both Swihart and Holt were hindered by injuries each of the past two seasons. Swihart underwent season-ending ankle surgery Aug. 15, 2016. He spent time on the DL with a finger contusion in May 2017 and left ankle inflammation in July and August 2017.

But don't forget, Swihart batted .303 with a .353 on-base percentage and .452 slugging percentage during the second half of 2015 as a 23-year-old rookie. His .303 batting average ranked third among major league catchers with 100 or more at-bats after the All-Star Break.

"Whenever you're injured and you don't really feel like you can perform, it's tough," Holt told MassLive.com. "So the fact that he's feeling good, first off, is great in itself. We knew he was a good player. It's just that when things aren't feeling right, it's hard to be yourself. So to see him healthy again and helping out again, it's a lot of fun to see."

Sure, Red Sox pitchers rave about Leon's game-calling ability. But Boston starting pitchers have a 5.73 ERA (48.2 innings, 31 earned runs) over the past 10 games. It's more about the pitchers than the catcher.

Leon is slashing .114/.205/.203/.407 in 28 games during the second half. He's as close to an automatic out in the majors as you'll find right now. He's a great catcher to have on the roster. He works well with the pitchers.

But Swihart should be playing more.

Swihart not only is doing the job offensively, but he also has proved capable defensively. He has thrown out 5-for-12 (42 percent) of base stealers. He almost threw out another runner Thursday. The Red Sox challenged the call.

"He's playing great," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. "There was a reason he was on the roster earlier. And like I said, it's tough to play three catchers in a week at the big league level. He gets a chance to play because of an injury (to Christian Vazquez) and he's not only been great offensively but he's been good defensively. I mean that was another great throw today. That was kind of like flip a coin. Probably didn't have enough evidence to (over)turn it. But he's been good. Blocking balls. Calling the games with conviction. We're very happy with him."