Dustin Pedroia made a valuable contribution to the Boston Red Sox’s win over the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday night, despite spending the game on crutches.
Rafael Devers revealed to The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey on Thursday that a chat with the injured second baseman helped him break a mini-slump at the plate. Devers was in the midst of an 0-for-15 skid when he asked Pedroia about some of the finer points of hitting in the third inning inside the Red Sox dugout (Twitter user @redsoxstats shared video of the Devers’ fateful exchange with Pedroia).
“I just asked for a few pointers in terms of my swing,” Devers said. “I felt like I’m not used to struggling as much and he just said that I’m trying to lift the ball too much and that I should just attack it down and that’s when I was able to adjust in my swing.”
Devers hit a triple, a single and a home run in his next three at-bats, and his one RBI and three runs scored proved instrumental in Boston’s 7-4 win over Colorado.
He noted after the game the effect Pedroia’s tips had on him.
“It was a great confidence boost for me, but it was a lot of credit to him,” Devers said. “He helped me and he’s a legend in the game. He knows so much when it comes to that side of the ball. So learning from him and just asking those question and him being able to answer what I needed was great for me.”
Pedroia, 36, has played just nine games over the last two seasons and he faces an uncertain future following his latest knee surgery. However, helping teammates like Devers thrive only will add to Pedroia’s legacy and further cement him as a Red Sox legend.
