Rafael Devers has been a source of power throughout his eight seasons in a Red Sox uniform. He came up as a 20-year-old in the 2017 season and he has demonstrated the ability to hit the long ball to all fields. He pounded a three-run homer to centerfield Sunday against the Arizona Diamondbacks Sunday, the 200th home run of his career.
Rafael Devers becomes the first @RedSox hitter to reach 200 HR with the club before turning 28 years old!
It was also his 28th home run of the season. The blast enabled Devers to become the youngest Red Sox slugger to reach the 200 home run mark. Devers, 27, will not reach his next birthday until October 24.
Considering the Red Sox have had sluggers like Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, Jim Rice and David Ortiz, Devers' achievement is quite notable. Unfortunately for Devers and his teammates, the home run came in a 7-5 loss to the Diamondbacks. The National League visitors swept the three-game series in Boston.
The historic home run came in the bottom of the fourth inning against Arizona right-hander Merrill Kelly. After he hit a line drive to first base in his first at bat, he came to bat in the fourth inning with Wilyer Abreu and Triston Casas on base. His long drive off of a sinker gave the Red Sox a 4-0 lead at the time, and it appeared that Boston would be able to salvage the final game of the series.
Pitching falters, preventing true celebration for Devers
Red Sox All-Star pitcher Tanner Houck had shut down the Diamondbacks through the first four innings with little trouble. However, a pair of walks and a base hit loaded the bases with no outs in the fifth, and the Diamondbacks climbed back in the game with a ground out, a sacrifice fly and run-scoring hit by Jake McCarthy.
Related NewsArticle continues below
In the bottom of the inning, the Red Sox had runners on first and second with no outs, but Casas and Devers failed to produce. Casas popped out against Kelly and Devers grounded into a double play.
The Diamondbacks took the lead in the top of the sixth on a three-run homer by Eugenio Suarez. The Red Sox did not score again until Tyler O'Neill homered in the bottom of the ninth as they dropped a game that they appeared to have an excellent chance to win
Rafael Devers and the Red Sox are attempting to chase down a Wild Card spot, but they lost ground to the Kansas City Royals and Minnesota Twins over the weekend. Both of those teams lost two of three games in their respective weekend series, but manager Alex Cora's team could not take advantage. The Red Sox are 4.5 games out of a Wild Card spot
