Rafael Devers battled out of a major cold streak at the plate while the Boston Red Sox fell short of an impressive comeback against the Cincinnati Reds at Fenway Park on Tuesday night.
Devers, who entered the night 2-of-24 with no walks and six strikeouts over the course of his previous six games entering the series-opener with Cincinnati, broke out. He finished 2-for-5 with two RBIs during Boston’s 9-8 loss — its second straight — and also recorded his first mult-hit performance since May 19.
In need of a momentum shift, much like the Red Sox, Devers found a much-needed boost in confidence while also becoming the fourth youngest player in franchise history to reach 500 RBIs, finishing behind Hall of Famers Ted Williams, Bobby Doerr and Jim Rice.
“Those two hits obviously boosted my confidence and coming here early today to get a little bit of swings in is very good, so let’s see what happens tomorrow,” Devers said through a translator, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “I need to control the strike zone. I’m not the kind of hitter who’s going to see a lot of pitches, I’m very aggressive and that’s kind of the baseball player that I am. I know that I need to take some walks when I need to and I’m working on it.”
Devers didn’t shy away from the slump at the plate, doing his part by arriving earlier than usual at Fenway Park to get some extra swings. The 26-year-old is hitting .246 and ranks fourth in the American League in home runs (13). Yet, despite a minor setback in the batter’s box, Devers is devoted to getting back on track and performing at his usual All-Star level.
“I know the past few weeks hasn’t been very consistent in my part, but I need to make the adjustments and that’s what I’ve been trying to do,” Devers explained.
