{"id":79356,"date":"2024-07-09T07:00:36","date_gmt":"2024-07-09T11:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=79356"},"modified":"2024-07-08T22:20:03","modified_gmt":"2024-07-09T02:20:03","slug":"rafael-devers-powering-red-sox-through-hot-stretch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/07\/09\/rafael-devers-powering-red-sox-through-hot-stretch\/","title":{"rendered":"Star Slugger Powering Red Sox Through Hot Stretch"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over the last 19 games, there\u2019s been an unexpected best team in baseball. No – it\u2019s not the Philadelphia Phillies or Baltimore Orioles, who have dominated their respective leagues in 2024. It\u2019s not the New York Yankees or Los Angeles Dodgers. It\u2019s the Boston Red Sox, who have played hard-nosed, exciting, and fundamental baseball. No one personifies that more than Boston\u2019s current highest-paid<\/a> player, Rafael Devers<\/a>. And while the recent streak has been a team effort, Devers is powering the Red Sox through their hot stretch.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Rafael Devers Powering Red Sox Through Hot Stretch<\/b><\/h2>\n

Devers\u2019 recent performances have been nothing short of dominant. Zooming out towards the beginning of Boston\u2019s run, the third baseman is batting .328 in his last 15 games. That includes 19 hits, 17 RBI, and seven walks. But most impressively, he\u2019s hammered seven home runs during the stretch. Devers had three homers halfway through last month. On June 17, he smacked his fourth. It took another week before the full power settled in. And when it did, Devers couldn\u2019t be stopped.<\/span><\/p>\n

On June 24 against the Toronto Blue Jays, Devers hit his 14th bomb of the year. He quickly got to 15 the following day and exited the Toronto series off the back of consecutive homers. After two days off, Devers walked into June 28 searching for a third straight. That\u2019s exactly what occurred against the San Diego Padres. Three games, three homers. Not too shabby for the Dominican Republic native. Devers took a quick break from leaving the yard, failing to hit one out on June 29. But on June 30, he helped the Red Sox avoid being swept with his fourth home run in five contests. His slugging percentage for the season rose from .528 to .571 in a week. During the stretch, he batted .444 with six RBI.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Run Continues Into July<\/b><\/h3>\n

Entering July didn\u2019t slow Devers down at all. He had two RBI in each of his first three games of the month. Then, the Red Sox visited the New York Yankees, and a beast was unleashed. Sure, Devers went 0-for-4 in Game 1. Not great despite a clutch Boston win. But in Game 2, Devers smacked a home run off Gerrit Cole<\/a> for the 8th time<\/a> in his career. The Red Sox lost, but he made his presence known. Adding to it all was his 1,000th career hit. That trickled into Sunday\u2019s contest, which was one of Devers\u2019 best games of the year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Rafael Devers career stats vs Gerrit Cole:<\/p>\n

.333 AVG
\n8 HR
\n18 RBI
\n39 AB<\/p>\n

The only batter with at least 5 homers off Cole. pic.twitter.com\/wi04qRE6JB<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 StatMuse MLB (@statmusemlb) July 6, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n