Rafael Devers cannot be stopped.
He continued to tear the cover off the ball for the Red Sox on Tuesday night, going 4-for-5, including two home runs, with two runs and six RBIs in Boston’s 10-6 win over the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. It was his fourth multi-home run game of his career.
The young third baseman also is in the midst of a six-game hitting streak, batting .556 with seven doubles, two home runs and eight RBIs during that stretch.
“He’s consistent at what he’s doing,” manager Alex Cora said on NESN’s Red Sox postgame coverage. “He’s dominating the strikezone, he’s playing good defense, he’s a good baserunner, he’s a complete player. And he’s only 22. We’re glad we were patient with him. We know that there’s going to be times that he’s going to be 22, but overall he’s one of the best third basemen in the big leagues, and he’s showing that on a nightly basis.
“… One thing that was different from last year he was staying in the zone,” Cora added. “The walks were up and the strikeouts were down. And when you start doing that great things are going to happen. There was a period there he was leading the league in hitting and he got caught up in the average and he was swinging at everything, chasing hits, he’s not doing that anymore. … He’s doing everything right right now.”
Besides his offensive burst, Devers’ defense also has been noticeably better. There was a point during the season where his defense looked a bit sloppy and rushed, and he was making a plethora of errors. But after putting in some work with Cora, his coaches and teammates, Devers seems to have turned a corner.
Here are some other notes from Tuesday’s Red Sox-Blue Jays game:
— David Price continued to be a consistent starter for the Sox, tossing six innings in the win. The southpaw gave up just two earned runs and struck out seven.
“Great. He was great,” Cora said on NESN’s Red Sox postgame coverage. “… He’s been consistent all season. … He’s a team leader. Since the second half last year he’s been amazing for us.”
Price always has had success against the Blue Jays throughout his career with 23-3 record in 31 starts, 2.39 ERA and 186 strikeouts in 31 starts against Toronto. Since the start of 2018 the southpaw has gone 6-0 against the Blue Jays with a 2.31 ERA and 36 strikeouts.
— Boston’s offense amassed 15 hits, something Cora was happy about after traveling from London.
“… The way we came out swinging the bats, we did that, what, the last three games, just putting points on the board right away.”
— Andrew Benintendi was the only member of the starting nine to go hitless.
— Trevor Kelley, who was recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket on Monday, made his Major League Baseball debut in the ninth inning.
The right-hander did give up three runs, including a two-run home run, but he ended the game with a strikeout.
— Christian Vazquez had a strong game Tuesday, going 3-for-5 with three runs and two RBIs.
The catcher has shown tremendous improvement from last season. In fact, he batted just .207 with 10 doubles and three runs with 16 RBIs in 80 games. Through 69 games this year, Vazquez has a .296 average with 10 doubles, 12 home runs and 36 RBIs.
