Red Sox’s Rafael Devers Feeling ‘Really Good’ About Swing But Not Satisfied
Devers has four home runs in his last five games
Boston Red Sox star Rafael Devers did his best magician routine and made his offensive slump disappear in the blink of an eye.
Devers’ struggles at the plate to begin the month are now a thing of the past. The left-handed hitting slugger put them further in the rear-view mirror Tuesday by belting a pair of two-run home runs in a 7-6 loss in 10 innings to the Colorado Rockies at Fenway Park.
Devers now has four home runs in his last five games and it sure is a great feeling for the face of the Red Sox franchise to have his potent swing back.
“I’ve been working really hard with (assistant hitting coach) Luis (Ortiz),” Devers told reporters through a translator, as seen on NESN postgame coverage. “Feeling really well, really good in the past two series. I just need to keep getting better and keep improving in the next coming days.”
Devers started his hot streak at the plate with home runs in two of the three games in the weekend series against the New York Yankees. He went 0-for-4 in the series opener against the Rockies, but his fluid swing was still evident. Devers came close to bashing a go-ahead home run in the bottom of the eighth inning in Monday’s 10-inning loss but was robbed at the wall by right fielder Nate Jones.
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“He’s taken great at-bats, hit the ball hard all over the place,” Justin Turner told reporters, as seen on NESN postgame coverage. “Got robbed of a home run (Monday), could have been three in two days. Had a really nice play made on him in New York that could have been a few more RBIs. Swinging the bat really well.”
Devers made sure Jones had no shot at bringing back another homer, especially in the 10th inning with the Red Sox cleanup hitter belting a 410-foot round-tripper with Boston trying to rally from a three-run deficit.
Devers’ first home run of the game, though, was 99 feet shorter but still cut into Colorado’s lead. In the fourth inning, Devers turned on a pitch for Rockies starter Chase Anderson and clanked it off Pesky’s Pole, just out of the reach of Jones. It was initially ruled a double but was overturned on video review.
It was still a satisfying trip around the bases for Devers, but Boston’s recent play — they slipped to two games under .500 and are now 14 1/2 games back in the American League East — is not.
“I’ve never hit a home run that short,” Devers said. “Of course, that’s something positive but at the same time I don’t feel (great) about the situation the team is going through. It’s a tough situation we’re going through right now.”
