BOSTON — Xander Bogaerts hasn’t had much to smile about these days, but the milestone he reached Tuesday night certainly is a good reason.
The Red Sox shortstop, who currently is mired in a pretty rough slump, broke an 0-for-8 streak in the sixth inning at Fenway Park with a one-out double off Tampa Bay Rays starter Jake Odorizzi.
The double marked Bogaerts’ 500th career hit, which is just as impressive as it sounds for a guy who doesn’t turn 24 until October 1. In fact, the Aruba native became just the fifth player in Red Sox history to reach 500 hits before his 24th birthday.
Hits have been hard to come by for Bogaerts lately, though. The fourth-year shortstop, who struck out in two of his other three plate appearances in Boston’s 4-3 loss, is batting an abysmal .218 in August and has gone hitless in four of his last eight games.
Yet Tuesday’s accomplishment is a promising reminder that Bogaerts still is one of the best young hitters in the game and has a very bright future ahead of him.
Bogaerts’ teammate is right there with him, too, as Mookie Betts on Monday became just the third player in Red Sox history to reach 30 homers in a season before turning 24.
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Let’s hit a few other notes from Red Sox-Rays:
— Drew Pomeranz delivered a decent outing, but a disturbing trend is developing for the left-handed starter.
Pomeranz gave up a game-tying, two-run homer to Rays catcher Luke Maile with two outs in the seventh inning. In nine starts with Boston this season, he now has allowed a total of 12 runs the last inning of his appearances.
The 27-year-old converted relief pitcher already has reached a career high in innings this season, so there obviously are concerns about his durability. But Pomeranz insisted he hasn’t had issues with fatigue.
“It’s all the same,” Pomeranz said after the game. “I’m out there trying to make pitches the whole time. It’s good for me this year having three pitches. I’m out there being a pitcher, not a thrower — a lot of times I was just throwing stuff up there and hoping they miss it, but now, I’m out there with a plan.”
— Boston lost a golden opportunity to gain ground in the American League East on the Toronto Blue Jays, who lost to the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday. The Red Sox still trail Toronto by two games in the division and now lead Baltimore by just one game.
— The Red Sox have a rare off-day Thursday, but Rick Porcello will remain on five days’ rest and make his next start Saturday, per manager John Farrell. It remains unclear who will move in Boston’s rotation as a result.
— Andrew Benintendi won’t be participating in baseball activities anytime soon, but he did get fitted for a specialized knee brace he’ll receive in San Diego early next week.
“(His) rehab is range-of-motion, some strengthening some low-impact type stuff,â Farrell said before the game. “Two weeks from the date of the injury is going to be that lower impact phase, and then weâll start to increase some ground base activity once heâs got the brace on, then ultimately some baseball activity from there.â
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
