Wander Franco Becomes Fifth-Youngest Player To Have Four-Hit Game Vs. Red Sox

Wander Franco is making his case to be the American League Rookie of the Year with a strong season, but he did something Monday that hadn’t been done in 82 years against the Boston Red Sox.

The Tampa Bay Rays shortstop was a perfect 4-for-4 through his first four at-bats — the youngest player to have a four-hit game against the Red Sox since 1939, according to The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier. Franco also is the fifth-youngest player to do so.

Speier also noted that Ty Cobb was in the fifth-youngest spot before Monday’s game. Lou Gherig is fourth.

Coming into Fenway Park, Franco was batting .280 with seven home runs and 36 RBIs. His September began with a 31-game on-base streak and he had 15 extra-base hits in the month of August.

While the race for the award includes names like Adolis Garcia and Luis Garcia, if Franco can continue his hot stretch through the final month of the season, it may be a tougher decision to make.