It would be tough for Boston Red Sox outfielder Adam Duvall to have a hotter stretch than he did to start this season.
But Duvall has found a way to outdo that offensive tear with an even more impressive home run streak over the last week-plus.
Duvall is once again one of the hottest hitter's on the planet as he belted a solo homer over the Green Monster in the sixth inning of Boston's 6-2 loss to the Houston Astros on Tuesday at Fenway Park. Going yard has become routine for Duvall as of late as the round-tripper was his seventh in his last nine games.
That incredible run by Duvall put him in elite company in Red Sox history. Duvall is now just the third batter for the Red Sox to ever hit seven homers in a nine-game span, according to Red Sox senior manager of media relations and baseball information J.P. Long. George Scott and David Ortiz, who had similar streaks in 1977 and 2003, respectively, are the only other members of the Red Sox to accomplish the feat.
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"He's staying with his game plan, recognizing what they're trying to do and when he gets his pitch, he's not missing it," Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters, as seen on NESN postgame coverage. "They're not fly balls that go out, just one probably. The other ones, puts good swing on it and he's in a good spot right now."
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Duvall certainly has made an impact in his first season with Boston. It started immediately when the 34-year-old collected a .455 batting average with four home runs and 14 RBIs in the first eight games of the season.
But then Duvall fractured his wrist in Detroit, causing him to miss the next two months and then it took some time to get back into a groove upon his return.
Duvall certainly has found it now and is up to a .276 batting average with 18 home runs and 50 RBIs on the season. It's solid production, but it's hard not to think about what could have been if Duvall stayed healthy.
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Cora doesn't want to spend any effort thinking about that, though, with the Red Sox trying to cling to playoff contention.
"We don't have time for that. We just got to keep rolling," Cora said. "In spring training he made some adjustments. He worked with (hitting coach) Pete (Fatse), (assistant hitting coaches) Louis (Ortiz) and (Ben Rosenthal). And he wanted to pull the ball. He was able to do that early. Obviously the injury. But he's finding his rhythm, he's been working on a few things. I think the adjustments started in the Detroit series and right now, he's locked in."
Featured image via David Butler II/USA TODAY Sports Images