The Red Sox might have accidentally discovered a gem at third base.

Making his first career start at the hot corner due to the injury to Rafael Devers, and the low likelihood of ground balls to his side in yesterday’s matchup with the Twins, Blake Swihart handled each of his three chances with ease in the Sox’ 3-0 win.

And he looked like a natural.

“Blake played a good third base today,” manager Alex Cora said. “He turned a great double play. He made almost a great play in the hole. He put some good swings.

“Everybody is contributing. We feel like with our bench, we can use it again because we’ve got some capable guys there.”

Swihart had played 12 innings at third in spring training but was rarely tested. He had just two innings at third base in the majors before yesterday.

But it was a planned day off for Xander Bogaerts at shortstop, so Brock Holt was at short and Eduardo Nunez at second, leaving third for Swihart.

Cora said the Sox weren’t expecting the Twins to hit many grounders to third base against Nathan Eovaldi, who threw seven shutout innings in his Sox debut.

“Their lefties, for those who take notes, their lefties have hit only 2 percent ground balls to third base,” Cora said before the game. “Nathan this year, 0 percent ground balls to third base. Over his career, 3 percent ground balls to third base. So that’s why he’s playing third base.”

Instead, Swihart got three grounders hit his way. First came a slow roller that he smartly pocketed. Next was a hard shot in the hole that he chased down and made a nearly perfect throw to first that almost got the runner. Finally came a hot shot to the corner that he blocked like a catcher and then threw to second to begin a double play in the fourth inning.

“The last time (I made a play in the hole) was probably in high school,” Swihart said. “I guess instincts took over. Almost got him.”

On the double play: “I know how to drop a block, so that’s what I was doing. It was a short hop and I didn’t want it to get by me, so I let it hit my chest, pick it up and try and get the double play,” he said.

Not bad for a player who has been used mostly as a catcher this season, especially lately with Christian Vazquez on the disabled list.

“Early on I was taking ground balls, fly balls and doing catching drills,” Swihart said. “When I started catching I focused more on catching. (Infield coach Carlos) Febles and I went out there today and took some ground balls just to be prepared for the game.”

Swihart was 2-for-4 at the plate and extended his hitting streak to a career-high nine straight games. He’s batting .423 (11-for-26) in that stretch.

Devers heads to DL

Swihart was one of the only options after Devers was placed on the disabled list for the second time this year.

Devers, who missed 10 days with shoulder inflammation earlier this month, now has a left hamstring strain he suffered on Saturday night.

“I feel good right now,” Devers said yesterday morning. “After (Saturday) night I was rounding second and felt a pull in my hamstring and couldn’t continue running. When I bunted I felt a little discomfort but didn’t really feel like I pulled anything, but then when I was rounding second that time it got a little worse.”

Tzu-Wei Lin was recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket to take his place on the Red Sox roster.

Devers said he did not expect to be out long, and neither did Cora.

Another JBJ web gem

Jackie Bradley Jr. didn’t see the standing ovation, but he heard it.

After making another sensational catch in center field, Bradley had no idea that Fenway Park was on its feet.

“I think I heard it more than anything,” he said.

It was the third inning when he chased down Bobby Wilson’s liner in the left-center gap and made an on-the-run shoestring grab before hitting the warning track dirt and slamming into the bottom of the Green Monster as a loud thumping sound echoed through the park.

“I’m sure I’ll have a few bumps and bruises but I’m all right,” he said. “I think I take some calculated risks, but I’m always very self aware of my surroundings. I pride myself on knowing where the wall is, and knowing that I had enough room to make the play. I wasn’t too concerned.

“I didn’t really think I would continue to keep rolling like that toward the wall. I hit it a lot harder than I thought I did. After looking at the replay, I realized how hard I hit it.”

Cora joked that he’s seen better catches from Bradley. Where would Bradley rank that one?

“I don’t know. I keep telling y’all to get me some clips and I’ll put some numbers besides them for you,” he said. . . .

Andrew Benintendi was 2-for-4 with a double and set a career high with 27 doubles, passing his season total from last year. He’s also 20 for his last 41 (.488) vs. right-handed pitching. . . .

The Red Sox now lead the American League with 11 shutout wins, matching their total from last season.