Why Alex Cora Encourages Red Sox To Follow This Leader

BOSTON — If you haven’t been paying attention to the Red Sox, May has been a very tough month for Boston.

Aside from the 5-9 record, including a current four-game losing skid, the Red Sox have been riddled with injuries, beginning with first baseman Triston Casas at the beginning of the month.

Following the Casas injury, the Red Sox also saw Romy Gonzalez and Tanner Houck join Walker Buehler, Kutter Crawford, and Richard Fitts on the IL.

After dropping to 22-24, Boston is on the wrong side of the .500 line for the first time since the middle of April.

There is, however, a bright spot in the Red Sox lineup — third baseman Alex Bregman.

“If you don’t talk to Alex right now, at this point, he’s doing a disservice to you as a player,” manager Alex Cora said before Boston’s matchup against the Atlanta Braves on Saturday. “This kid, he knows everything about you. What you’re going to swing at, what you’re going to hit. Probably what you had for breakfast and lunch. He knows everything about you, and he wants to help.”

Bregman is not just viewed as a leader in the clubhouse, but he’s also off to a tremendous start in his first year with the Red Sox.

He entered Saturday with the highest average (.309), OBP (.389), slugging percentage (.579), and OPS (.968) of his career through 45 games. His 11 homers are the second most of his career, second only to the 14 he hit through 45 contests in 2019, and his 26 extra-base hits are his most ever. Bregman is on a 40-home run, 120-RBI pace, which would be among the best run-production numbers he’s ever produced.