The weather continues to warm, and some Red Sox players have heated up as well. Others have gone the opposite direction.
The Boston Red Sox rotation has gotten a lot of attention lately, and deservedly so. Here the focus will be on the batters in the lineup. For the first time in Alex Cora’s managerial career with the Red Sox, the pitchers are outperforming the batters. Nothing like something new in a final season, or what could be Cora’s final season.
Hitting for the Cycle?
Before getting into individual performances, let’s look at last Monday night against the Tampa Bay Rays. The Red Sox hit the cycle as a team. Now that in of itself is not impressive. What was impressive was they were the first four hits of the game for the Sox.
Those hits all came on the second time through the order. The first time through the order, the Sox went 0-9 with eight strikeouts. Second time through on SP Taj Bradley? Sox went 5-9. CF Jarren Duran hit a triple to left. RF Wilyer Abreu hit a double, and then 3B Rafael Devers hit a two-run home run for a 3-0 lead. More on Durran and Devers to come. The next inning, 2B David Hamilton hit a single to finish the cycle. He was then driven home by SS Ceddanne Rafaela’s two-run home run for a 5-0 lead. Next time through the lineup, still versus Bradley, the Sox went 1-9. Go figure.
All of that after 89% of the lineup struck out the first time through the order. This has been a problem for the Sox, who are third in the league in strikeouts. As the weather warms in Boston, let’s hope pitches slip more often for the visitors. This team goes colder than the Maple Ridge, Canada hometown of Red Sox LF Tyler O’Neill.
Who’s Cooking?
I promised I would get back to Rafael Devers. Rafe, it is great to have you back. After an injury riddle April, Devers is healthy and hitting like one of the best in baseball (which he is). The main highlight is he recently hit a home run in six straight games. He broke the previous Red Sox record of five straight games held by 1B Bobby Dalbec, Jose Canseco, George Scott, Dick Stuart, Ted Williams, and Jimmie Foxx. Some elite company, and some not. Needless to say, it is about time one of the best RBI hitters since 2019 is in the cleanup spot. I never liked Devers hitting second.
Jarren Duran has been hungry like the wolf this year, and that is great news for Boston. His hitting left off where he started last season. He has eight triples this season, more than 16 entire teams. Also, his speed and Devers’ were on display in a double steal that let him steal home. I’ll never sniff the majors, but I still remember the Golden Rule from my days as a Little League catcher: Do not throw at a runner stealing second with a man on third. Especially when the runner on third is fast.
The real surprise has been his fielding. The Red Sox defense struggled mightily when SS Trevor Story went down. In an attempt to plug one hole by opening up another, the Sox moved Ceddanne Rafaela from centerfield to shortstop. Instead of a mess in the outfield, Duran took over and has been a revelation. He’s seventh in MLB in Outs Above Average. However, even a Gold Glove won’t make me forget the time he lost a ball in center, giving up an inside-the-park grand slam. I thought that was the end of Duran. In spite of his work, the Sox still have the worst fielding percentage in the league. It’s never good when you have a statistic in the same ballpark as the Oakland A’s.
Who’s Crying?
In a twist of fate, Chris Sale was traded away and has been healthy all season. The player received in the Sale trade, 2B Vaughn Grissom, has been injured all spring. Grissom hurt his groin, missing most of Spring Training. Then as he was working his way back, he got the flu and lost 14 pounds. Now that Grissom is in the lineup, he has struggled to catch up. It is way too soon to evaluate who won the trade, but the early returns are concerning. Fortunately, the Sox are a team, which means no one is ever alone. That’s why over the last fifteen days, Grissom is joined by Tyler O’Neill and Ceddanne Rafaela with three of the worst batting averages in the league.
The scouting report on Rafaela is well known by now. He’s a defensive wunderkind, even more so now by playing well at short. His hitting is still going to need work. He’s flashed greatness (seven RBIs in one game), so let’s hope experience improves his discipline at the plate. O’Neill’s woes are the most concerning of the group. He has stayed healthy, other than a collision with Devers. Unfortunately, through no fault of his own, the Red Sox need him to hit like he did in 2021. Is that fair to demand of the man? Maybe not, but as long as he stays healthy, I am sure he will build up his game like his dad built up muscle back in the day.
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