Following another monster effort from the hottest hitter in baseball, that talk only intensified.
"He's swinging the bat really well. That's the understatement of the year," manager Terry Francona said after Lowrie went 4-for-5 with a home run and four RBIs in a 9-1 win over Toronto.
The performance, which included career high-tying totals in hits and RBIs, bumped Lowrie's average to .516 (16-for-31). As impressive as that is, a deeper look at Lowrie's recent production reveals several more remarkable statistics:
• Over a seven-game stretch, Lowrie is 15-for-24 (.625) with all nine of his RBIs and eight runs scored.
• Lowrie is 10-for-17 (.588) against left-handers in 2011. He is 34-for-88 (.386) with a .693 slugging percentage vs. southpaws over the last two seasons.
• In 28 games as a shortstop since his 2010 debut, Lowrie is batting .366 (34-for-93) with eight homers and 20 RBIs.
• The 27-year-old is 29-for-89 (.326) with five homers with runners on base over the last two years.
• Since the start of the 2010 season, he has struck out just 28 times in 202 at-bats. In that same stretch, he has drawn 27 free passes.
Numbers aside, teammates are happy to see Lowrie produce, not just because of what it means for the team.
"It's good for him," Jason Varitek said. "What he went through last year with his illnesses. Nice to see. Those were big hits today"
"He's just taking great swings," Kevin Youkilis added. "The ball's getting up to the plate and he's doing damage with it. He's not fouling them off. He's putting them in play. Even the other day, that ball that came back and went fair, when you're going good that's what happens … [But] it's not luck. He's driving the ball well and getting big hits for us."
While many will remember Lowrie's two-run homer on Monday, the two-run single he had in the first was the big one in the eyes of Francona. Not only did it provide the team with all the runs it would need, it rescued them from another in a long line of failed rallies.
Boston entered the game hitting .205 (27-for-132) with runners in scoring position and Adrian Gonzalez and Kevin Youkilis had both struck out with two men on in the first. After David Ortiz walked to load the bases, it came down to Lowrie.
A first-pitch fastball from Ricky Romero was socked into right field, scoring two and setting the tone for the rout.
"The first inning we scored, we had a chance to strand runners," Francona said. "We had two punchouts with the bases loaded. [Lowrie] comes up and hits that first ball into right field to get us going. We just kept adding on. We stayed on them all day, that's a good way to play."
The way Lowrie is going, just having him in the lineup is a good way to play. And the longer his hot stretch lasts, the talk will only increase.
