It’s safe to say Rafael Devers has done more than just make a leap forward in his third full season in Major League Baseball. Rather, the 22-year-old has catapulted himself into the upper echelon of hitters in the game.
Not only has Devers anchored the Boston Red Sox’s lineup, he also has come up in clutch moments. Thus was the case on Wednesday when Devers drove in four runs in a 5-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. It was Devers’ run-scoring single in the bottom of the eighth that made the difference as the bullpen danced around some dicey moments in the late innings.
Devers sprayed the ball all over the field, driving hits to each field, including a home run over the Green Monster for his 18th home run of the campaign. Four of the balls he put in play had an exit velocity over 100 mph.
“I’m just trying to have the right approach in every at-bat, trying to not do too much and continue playing my game. And then get good at-bats in which contributed to the success I have had on the field,” Devers said through a translator on NESN’s postgame coverage.
“We’re playing really well, especially with runners in scoring position. We’re getting key hits and just trying to do as much as we can to back up our pitchers.”
This is the third time this season Devers has driven in four or more runs, trailing only his six-RBI game against the Blue Jays on July 2. In fact, Devers broke David Ortiz’s record for most RBI’s in a season against the Blue Jays with 25.
Here are some other notes from Wednesday’s Red Sox-Blue Jays game:
— Eduardo Rodriguez was solid again.
While the southpaw didn’t have the strikeout pitch working like he did against the Los Angeles Dodgers in his last outing, he did work efficiently into the seventh. He leads the Red Sox in wins (11) and innings pitched (116).
— Brock Holt had an impressive night at the plate, going 3-for-4 with an RBI.
It was Holt’s fourth three-hit game of the season and his first since a 3-for-7 effort in the Sox’s 17-inning game against the Minnesota Twins.
Holt is batting .550 over his last eight games and is a scintillating 38-for-93 (.408) over his last 30.
— Red Sox bats continue to find success with ducks on the pond.
With runners in scoring position in their last 21 games, the Red Sox are batting .327 with a .913 OPS (70-for-214, 16 doubles, seven home runs).
— Mookie Betts is batting .447/.489/.632 during his season-best nine-game hitting streak (17-for-38, 13 runs, five doubles 3B, six RBI’s).
— Josh Taylor ran into a load of trouble in the eighth.
The lefty recorded just one out, giving up a home run, plunking a batter and walking another before getting the hook.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr.’s home run to left was the first earned run the southpaw has allowed in July in eight appearances. He entered Wednesday with batters hitting .185 against him.
