Red Sox’s Adam Duvall Heading In ‘Right Direction’ After White Sox Series

It felt like a rock-bottom moment for Red Sox outfielder Adam Duvall on Saturday when he struck out with the bases loaded to end the top of the ninth inning before the White Sox notched a walk-off win in the bottom half of the frame.

Since missing two months of the season due to a broken wrist, Duvall has been stuck in a mighty slump at the plate, entering the series finale with Chicago hitting just .133 (6-for-45) upon returning from the injured list earlier this month.

But Duvall showed signs of breaking out of his offensive woes Sunday as he was one of the few bright spots for the Red Sox in a 4-1 loss at Guaranteed Rate Field. Duvall collected nearly half of Boston’s hits on the day, going 2-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI.

“I felt much better today than I had in the past week,” Duvall told reporters as seen on NESN postgame coverage. “Personally, that was a step in the right direction.”

Duvall’s solid showing to close out Boston’s road trip, which it finished 3-4, is still just a sliver of the production he turned in to begin his Red Sox tenure. In the first eight games this season, the 34-year-old, who signed a one-year deal with Boston this offseason, was one of the hottest hitters on the planet. He slugged four home runs with 14 RBIs while batting .455 until he suffered his wrist injury going for a ball in center field in early April against the Detroit Tigers.

Duvall clearly hasn’t been the same hitter since then, but his performance Sunday was encouraging that he’s at least somewhat regaining his form. The Red Sox offense sure could use his hot bat in the lineup given their inconsistent nature. After scoring 19 runs in the first two games of their road trip, the Red Sox tallied 12 runs over the final five contests as they head home with a series against the Miami Marlins on deck.

“The back end of Minnesota we ran into two really good pitchers. They held us down and we just didn’t finish,” Duvall said. “We’ve been in some close ones and we just haven’t come out on top. We got to figure out a way to do that.”