Boston Red Sox designated hitter Rafael Devers has been on a tear at the plate, and it continued in timely fashion during Sunday afternoon’s Mother’s Day game against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium.
Devers stepped into the batter’s box amid Boston and Kansas City’s 1-1 tie in the sixth inning, carrying a 14-game on-base streak into the contest. With a runner on first and a chance to spark a rally in the rubber match, Devers crushed a 440-foot two-run home run to give the Red Sox a 3-1 lead over the Royals. That score held up the rest of the way through as closer Aroldis Chapman recorded his sixth save of the season to seal the deal. Boston manager Alex Cora elaborated on how well Devers has settled in since transitioning from being the starting third baseman to the everyday designated hitter.
“Very comfortable,” Cora told reporters postgame, per NESN. “And keep growing and keep learning about it. I think the strength and conditioning, and the trainers and the hitting group, they’ve done an amazing job supporting him. If you look at the numbers right now, he’s probably the best DH in the American League right now.”
When the season opened up, Devers struggled mightily to get going offensively. The three-time All-Star went hitless across his first 19 at-bats of the campaign with 15 strikeouts, but the club knew Devers would get going. Nobody panicked or raised an alarm, and ever since the Red Sox have entered May, the results have taken a drastic turn for the better. Devers is hitting .471 with two home runs and 12 RBIs, all while skyrocketing to the No. 1 slot as the team’s leader in walks (31) and on-base percentage (.398).
“Just another day,” Cora continued, per NESN. “He’s swinging the bat well. He’s in a good spot. He’s seeing the ball well, executing his game plan, which is very important and that ball was demolished.”
Before the team left Fenway Park to begin its six-game road trip, Devers adamantly mentioned that playing first base wasn’t an option he’d express any interest in since teammate Triston Casas suffered a season-ending knee injury. So far, the Red Sox have received everything they could’ve asked for from Devers since the organization improved the infield by signing Alex Bregman and named him the go-to third baseman. It doesn’t mean there’s no shot Devers expresses a change of heart and takes over at first base, however, the team’s skipper is plenty satisfied with what the team has gotten out of Devers as the lineup’s designated hitter.
