The Boston Red Sox received contributions from up and down their lineup Sunday, and it led to a dominant offensive effort against the Kansas City Royals.
Boston scored 13 runs on 20 hits (!) during its 13-3 series-earning victory at Fenway Park. Given that the Red Sox combined to scored two runs in their first two games against the Royals, including being shut out the night prior, manager Alex Cora was happy to see the group’s offensive output.
“Good at-bats you know? Sac flies, moving guys over, working counts. It was a good one,” Cora said after the game, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “The bottom of the lineup did a solid job and obviously Tommy (Pham) with a big day, Raffy too. It was good. It seemed like a grind early on, but we were add on, and it was fun to watch.”
Seven players finished with multiple hits while every starter recorded at least one knock. Rafael Devers finished with a team-best four hits while Pham and Reese McGuire each added three.
“It’s just the way the game goes, right?” Cora said of the output. “You go through stretches, but if you keep the quality of the at-bats, good things are going to happen.”
Here are some other notes from Red Sox-Royals:
— Xander Bogaerts continued to keep pace in the race for the American League’s best batting average with two hits in four at-bats. With his individual effort, Bogaerts became just the fourth-ever Red Sox player to have 1,400-plus hits before turning 30 years old. Carl Yastremski (1,480), Bobby Doerr (1,437) and Jim Rice (1,429) are the only other former Red Sox players to have done so.
Bogaerts admitted he did hear about the feat a few days prior.
“I mean it’s special, you know? When you accomplish stuff like that,” Bogaerts said, as seen on NESN. “But it felt good, especially winning. We got shut out yesterday, but were still playing and it’s fun to win games.”
Cora praised Bogaerts following the game: “Just all around, the last few weeks have been impressive — driving the ball, taking what they give him, being more selective in certain counts. Obviously we love the fact he plays every day but the way he goes about it, I always said he’s the most consistent part of this organization.”
— Devers continued to be locked in with his play at the plate. He added three RBIs to go along with his four hits.
“There’s a reason he’s hitting second again. Because he feels a lot better than he was a few weeks ago,” Cora said. “He can run around, he can score and when he’s using the whole field good things can happen. … Overall, a good series for him. much better swings.”
— McGuire added another three hits with two RBIs and two runs scored for the Red Sox. Boston’s catcher talked about what he’s been doing to try and maintain his rhythm.
“… (It’s been about) getting in a routine every day, working with all the hitting coaches. It’s a collective effort in the dugout, communicating with teammates as we get first time through the lineup against a starrer,” said McGuire, who added he would like to remain in Boston past this season. “Looking for ways to get better as a whole.”
— Nathan Eovaldi threw batting practice Sunday and still intends to return for Boston this season following a likely rehab assignment.
— Brayan Bello will get the ball next for the Red Sox when they face the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday.
