There were plenty of issues with the 2022 Boston Red Sox, but perhaps the most notable was their lack of pop.
Boston totaled 155 home runs last season, the 20th-best mark in Major League Baseball. Just a few seasons after doing record amounts of damage, Alex Cora's squad was just an average power team. In a few short weeks, however, the 2023 edition of the Red Sox looks like they may have resolved that issue.
The Red Sox have launched 14 home runs through eight games this season, MLB's fourth-best number. Who do they have to thank for the majority of those tanks? Rafael Devers and Adam Duvall.
Devers and Duvall practically beat the Detroit Tigers singlehandedly Saturday afternoon, combining to go 5-for-9 from the plate with three home runs -- including a grand slam, two doubles and seven RBIs. They're a dynamic duo, and they're even impressing each other.
"I know he's got some oppo juice," Duvall said of Devers on Saturday, as seen on NESN's postgame coverage. "If I could learn some of that, that would be nice. He's such a professional at-bat. He's never out of the at-bat, which is good, and he can always hurt you. It's cool to see."
The duo are now 24-for-64 from the plate this season, totaling eight home runs, eight doubles and 23 RBIs, making them the first set of Red Sox teammates to each have four homers through eight games, per team statistician J.P. Long. Their power is something that's noticed by teammates.
"(Duvall) and Devers, obviously they have light-tower power," Alex Verdugo said postgame. "Those guys are just putting it on display and it's a lot of fun to watch. It's one of those things where if you have guys who just need to touch the ball to go that far, it makes it that much easier for guys like me."
Red Sox manager Alex Cora was puzzled by Devers' ability to hit pitches outside of the zone, heaping praise on him Saturday. He didn't leave Duvall out, however.
"We knew that he could hit the ball hard in the air to the pull side," Cora explained postgame. "But he's been getting into good hitter counts. ... This is not just a swinger, a big guy that hits the ball hard. He's a quality at-bat with men on. I heard his quotes, he takes a lot of pride in driving them in and obviously, he's been doing that."
