The Boston Red Sox snapped their five-game losing streak Thursday night in Toronto, defeating the Blue Jays 7-4 at Rogers Centre.
Xander Bogaerts continued his impressive season in the win, going 2-for-5 en route to making team history with a fellow infielder.
Bogaerts jumped into Red Sox history Thursday with his 50th double of the season, joining Rafael Devers at the half-century mark. The two youngsters are the first pair of Boston teammates ever to collect 50 two-baggers each in the same season.
The 22-year-old third baseman beat Bogaerts to 50 doubles by just two days, which may seem insignificant, but it turns out they have a bit of a competition going while etching their names in franchise history.
“(Devers) actually made me a bet,” Bogaerts told NESN’s Guerin Austin with a laugh. “He was like ‘let’s bet that (I’ll) end up with more doubles than (you).’ I told him I’ll be waiting for him to hit that one more home run, so looking forward to the day that he hits it, and hopefully it’s sooner than later.”
Devers has received a majority of the praise this year, and rightfully so at age 22, but Bogaerts has put together a spectacular campaign. His 50th double put him in extremely rare company. The two-bagger placed him next to Alex Rodriguez (1996) as the only two shortstops in MLB history to collect 30 homers and 50 doubles in the same season. David Ortiz (2007) previously was the only other Red Sox player to record those numbers, per Red Sox notes.
So yes, these numbers are ridiculously impressive, and manager Alex Cora says he’s proud of the shortstop, while still maintaining excitement for his future.
“Yeah that’s pretty cool, huh,” Cora said. “For him to buy into the concept of driving the ball, it’s been great. Also he’s hitting over .300. I still believe that he’s going to be better, because he’s going to understand when to attack a little bit more often. … He will do that with time, and he’s only 26. We’re very proud of him.
“It’s not only the numbers, it’s the consistency of him showing up every day, the routine, being a leader, and understanding what he means to the organization,” Cora added. “In a quote/unquote bad season he’s been showing up every day and he’s learned a lot this year.”
Bogaerts has been a major bright spot this season, and it’s clear that will be the case for years to come.
Here are some more notes from Thursday’s Red Sox-Blue Jays game:
— Mookie Betts scored his Major League-leading 130th and 131st runs of the season Thursday, tying him with Dom DiMaggio’s mark from 1950.
DiMaggio scored 131 runs that season, making him the last Boston player to score 130, until Betts in 2019. For those wondering, Ted Williams has five of the first seven spots, according to The Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham.
— Jhoulys Chacin looked solid once again in his second start for the Red Sox, tossing 2 2/3 innings of two-hit ball in another scoreless outing.
The 31-year-old has yet to give up a run in 5 2/3 innings with Boston since joining the club in early September.
— Brandon Workman helped the Red Sox avoid a meltdown in the eighth when he came in to get Bo Bichette to pop out with the bases loaded after Matt Barnes allowed a hit and three walks.
Workman stayed in for the ninth and picked up his team-leading 12 save of the season, ultimately giving up just one hit and one unearned run in 1 1/3 innings.
— If you’re an NBA fan and watched Thursday night’s game, your brain may have gotten twisted into a pretzel. We had a Matt Barnes vs. Derek Fisher matchup in the eighth inning.
