Alex Cora’s Lineup Shakeup Paying Huge Dividends For Red Sox
Has Cora unlocked something with Boston's lineup?
Coming out of the All-Star Break, the Boston Red Sox’s lineup was in a funk. During a 10-game stretch from July 12 through July 26, the Red Sox went 5-5 and scored just 30 runs, averaging exactly three runs per game.
Looking to give the offense a jolt, Cora tweaked Boston’s lineup for Sunday’s series finale against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He swapped Jarren Duran and Roman Anthony in the batting order, moving Anthony to leadoff and dropping Duran to the three-hole.
The move was seemingly designed to take advantage of Anthony’s elite on-base skills (.401 OBP) and get a bit more power in the middle of the order with Duran, who has more pop and a higher slugging percentage.
So far, the move has paid off wonderfully. The Red Sox are 3-1 with Anthony at the top of the order and averaging 7.3 runs per game. They also just had their best offensive performance of the second half with Wednesday’s 13-1 rout of the Minnesota Twins, with Duran (three hits, four RBI) leading the way.
Anthony has flourished in the leadoff spot, putting his elite batting eye to good use. He’s reached base multiple times in all four games and batting .400/.550/.600 with six runs and three RBI.
Meanwhile, Duran has thrived in the three-hole. While he was already hot before the switch, he’s taken his game to another level with three doubles, two homers, five RBI and a 1.412 OPS since the move.
Cora appears to have unlocked something in Boston’s lineup with the shakeup, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. The Red Sox are about to kick off a big three-game series against the AL West-leading Houston Astros at Fenway Park this weekend, so they’re going to need all the runs they can get.
