If Los Angeles Angels phenom Shohei Ohtani is known as the “Japanese Babe Ruth,” what does that make Boston Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers?
No, Devers didn’t pitch for Boston if that’s what you’re thinking. Instead, during the Red Sox’s victory over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Friday night, he followed the lead of Ruth in a different way.
He called his shot.
“He actually told me he was going to go deep twice today, and he actually did,” Brayan Bello told reporters, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage.
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Devers had quite the return from his All-Star break, going 3-for-5 from the plate with a pair of home runs. It was the slugger’s fourth multi-home run game of the season — pushing his total to 22 on the season with 72 RBIs and 21 doubles. The 26-year-old has batted .295 with a .392 on-base percentage, .580 slugging percentage, .972 OPS, nine homers and five doubles in 130 plate appearances over his past 30 games, per Christopher Smith of MassLive.
It’s quite the feat to predict a two-home run game and actually follow through with it, but did Bello actually believe his fellow Dominican?
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“Yes. Always,” Bello said.
The 24-year-old right-hander had a solid night in his own right, striking out five batters over the course of six innings, allowing just three runs on eight hits. He was susceptible to the long ball, but still had enough to become the seventh pitcher to make seven-consecutive quality starts in 2023, per Red Sox statistician J.P. Long.
Devers might want to start calling his shot a bit more often if it’s going to turn out like this.
Featured image via David Banks/USA TODAY Sports Images
