NEW YORK — In the history of the Red Sox, no one has caught more games or innings than Jason Varitek.

Varitek understands, more than most, the importance of a strong relationship between a catcher and pitcher.

But Varitek isn’t the least bit worried about Carlos Narvaez — and not the usual choice, Connor Wong — being behind the plate for a critical Game 2 start for Brayan Bello Wednesday night.

“It’s not like Brayan hasn’t had (Narvaez) before,” said Varitek. “(Bello) has had some additions to his repertoire (over the course of the season) and Connor does a great job of helping to relay that. And the hope is that there’s been enough relayed during the season that it becomes a complement rather than a distraction.”

Manager Alex Cora has been impressed with the at-bats from Narvaez over the last week or so and didn’t want to take his bat out of the lineup. Plus, as Varitek mentioned, Narvaez has caught Bello before (six games) and that pairing has actually resulted in a lower ERA (3.07) than the one fashioned with Wong (3.41).

Varitek was asked why some pitchers tend to partner better with some catchers better than others.

“There’s so many different avenues,” said Varitek, “but the most intangible part of our game is confidence. But both guys have a lot of strengths and they’ve worked really hard.”

Asked how differently the game-calling will be with Narvaez compared to Wong, Varitek said it was impossible to predict.

“There’s variance in it anyway, even with our analytics system,” said Varitek. “There’s variance in how you interpret the information and how you go about it. But each guy is a little different. Vision and strength and trust are different things with individual catchers. It’s about how you communicate through the tough times.”

Varitek also believes that Bello will find a comfort factor with Narvaez and establish it quickly.

“He’s thrown well to him before,” said Varitek. “If he hadn’t throw well with him, I’d be worried. But he’ll be fine.”

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.