Remember when the trade deadline came and went with the Red Sox only answer to their first base conundrum coming in the form of a player, Kyle Schwarber, who had never played the position?
My, how that conversation has changed. For that, the Red Sox can in large part thank Bobby Dalbec.
If you remember, most of the screaming and yelling revolved around the swing-and-a-miss when it came to allowing Anthony Rizzo to land with the Yankees. (The first baseman's clutch performance against the Red Sox didn't help temper such anxiety.) And, make no mistake about it, Rizzo clearly represented the right guy at the right time, with New York now having gone 14-1 in games he has played.
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But after watching Dalbec's two-home run, seven-RBI game Thursday night against the Twins, it seems like a reasonable time to check in on the reality of the Red Sox' first base situation.
Schwarber finally did play his second career inning at first base in the ninth in the Sox' latest win, and figures to be steadily integrated into the position throughout the coming road trip. But, fortunately for the Red Sox, there is no rush.
First off, Travis Shaw has delivered a nice left-handed-hitting first base complement, already hitting a pair of home runs in his first 12 plate appearances. But most notably there has been the new-and-improved Dalbec.
The numbers don't lie ...
- He became only the sixth major leaguer ever with two-plus HR and seven-plus RBI in a game as the No. 9 hitter, and the first for the Red Sox since Jackie Bradley Jr. did it on Aug. 15, 2015.
- Other than Schwarber, there hasn't been a better Red Sox hitter in August, with Dalbec managing a .347 batting and 1.184 OPS in the month.
- Against right-handed pitching in August, Dalbec has gone 10-for-25 with five homers and just five strikeouts. During that time his swing-and-miss rate against breaking balls from righties has dipped from 63 percent in July to 27 percent this month.
- And, to top things off, after his hot start, Rizzo is hitting just .204 with a .707 OPS with the Yankees.
"He's been really, really good," said Red Sox manager Alex Cora after the Red Sox' latest win. "Obviously, we're picking and choosing, we play him against lefties and certain righties. He's doing a good job. One thing he's doing lately, he's pulling the ball. There were a lot of empty fly balls to right field. I know last year he was driving the ball that way, but people make adjustments and now it seems like every home run is pull-side now. Forget the home runs. I was more happy with second and third, infield in, and the base hit up the middle, that's what we're looking for. Obviously, the homers are great, but that was a great at-bat. He made a nice play at first base. All around, pretty solid. It was good to see."
“Oh, it was awesome," Dalbec said of his curtain call. "Crazy feeling. Just something you dream about as a kid.”
And now the Red Sox dream of not fretting about first base is seemingly becoming a reality.
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