Remember in August when Boston Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts was struggling — for his high standards — at the plate? The frustration during that time over his lack of offensive production uncharacteristically boiled over, too, and led to him getting ejected from a game against the Baltimore Orioles.
Well, he’s put all of that well into the past.
Bogaerts continued his hitting hot streak in Monday’s 4-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field, and grabbed a piece of Red Sox history along the way. Bogaerts, who went 2-for-5 in the defeat, recorded multiple hits in his ninth consecutive game, which is tied for the longest streak in franchise history, according to Red Sox senior manager of media relations and baseball information J.P. Long. Bogaerts now shares the record with Kevin Youkilis, Jim Rice and Roy Johnson, per Long.
It’s certainly been a very impressive stretch from Bogaerts and it has led to the four-time All-Star taking over the top spot in the American League batting race.
This isn’t the first time Bogaerts has etched his name into the Red Sox record book this season. He reached a milestone in early June by playing in the most career games at shortstop for the Red Sox, and even notched an accomplishment last week.
While Bogaerts collected two hits again, he probably wishes he could have registered one more Monday as he struck out looking with a runner in scoring position to end the game.
“It’s always good (with Bogaerts up),” said manager Alex Cora of the final at-bat, as seen on NESN postgame coverage. “But that kid (Pete Fairbanks) made some pitches. That fastball at the end, he dotted it.”
Bogaerts will look to take sole ownership of the Red Sox record Tuesday with Boston continuing its three-game series against the Rays. First pitch from Tropicana Field is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. ET, and you can catch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage with NESN 360.
