It wasn't a long stretch, but Boston Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers' recent cold streak showed he was human. Or is he?
Just when talk started to pick up regarding the collective struggles of Devers, Xander Bogaerts and J.D. Martinez, Boston's top star put together an all around performance that reminded the baseball world why he is so special.
Devers went 2-for-4 with a home run in Sunday night's Red Sox win over the rival New York Yankees, leading Boston to a 3-0 shutout victory both in the field and at the plate.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora spoke about Devers' importance to the club following the game.
"He understands his swing," Cora said. "And he mentioned it (saying), 'I'm close. I'm just missing my pitch. It's just one adjustment.' And they talked about it last night (hitting coach Peter Fatse) and the group ... with Raffy. He went out there early, you guys saw him. Whatever they did, it seems like he was on time and that's the most important thing. He can get hot like that and he can carry the offense for a few days and sometimes weeks. That was a good start."
The series victory over New York was much needed, as Boston had entered the weekend without a multi-game series win over an American League East opponent all year. With scheduled returns lined up for the coming week coinciding with a series against the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates, now is Boston's chance to get hot and make a postseason push.
That push will start and end with the Red Sox's best player, Rafael Devers.
