It's been a few weeks now since Dustin Pedroia decided to step away from the Red Sox in order to reflect on his knee injury. That has also been the exact same amount of time Brock Holt has been wearing a particular wristband.
Holt has made sure that while Pedroia is gone he isn't forgotten.
The infielder continues to don a picture of Pedroia on his left wrist as part of his game-day equipment. And for whatever reason, the choice in outerwear has coincided with Holt going on an absolute tear, as was evident once again Saturday with a 3-for-5 performance in the Red Sox' 7-2 win over the Orioles at Camden Yards. (For a complete recap, click here.)
"A little shoutout," Holt explained to NESN's Guerin Austin in his postgame interview. "I’ve been wearing it ever since he went back home. We’re always thinking about him. I’m obviously thinking about him. Wearing him. This actually might be the reason I’m doing so well. I’ve got a little bit of him with me so just part of our team still no matter where he’s at. We’re thinking about him."
Holt's performance during this stretch is a nice story, but it has also been somewhat of a necessity.
Originally Michael Chavis was able to stabilize the second base position once Pedroia went down, but then he was needed at first base due to the injuries to Mitch Moreland and Steve Pearce. That's where Holt came in.
In his 12 starts, Holt has failed to notch at least one hit just twice. He has hit .396 with a .984 OPS in the 14 games he has appeared in since returning from the injured list. And during this four-game win streak the second baseman has a team-best 1.455 OPS while going 6-for-12.
Martinez homered for the third straight game Saturday, giving him a team-leading 16 for the season. And a good majority of the rest of this lineup has found themselves on fire over the past four games, including Jackie Bradley Jr. (1.404 OPS), Rafael Devers (8-for-17), Christian Vazquez (5-for-13) and Xander Bogaerts (1.229 OPS).
Chris Sale continued his run of solid starts, giving up two runs over six innings while striking out 10.
Since the beginning of May, Chris Sale has a 2.09 ERA …In those 9 starts, he has struck out 10+ batters EIGHT TIMES. pic.twitter.com/GVcixtKZld
— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) June 15, 2019