When Thursday night's game ended, one of the biggest concerns surrounding the Red Sox was Rafael Devers' health. The third baseman looked pained when swinging, particularly in his ninth-inning at-bat during the Red Sox' Game 1 loss.
After the game, Alex Cora downplayed any ailment, simply reiterating that there are plenty of players who aren't playing at 100 percentl.
Just about 24 hours later, the conversation completely changed, with Devers owning one of the Red Sox' five home runs in their 14-6, Game 2 win over the Rays.
Somewhere in between, David Ortiz swooped in with some well-timed advice.
"When you are not 100 percent out there, you have to be less violent," Ortiz said on the FS1 postgame show. "I had this conversation with Devers this morning and Alex and I told Devers my best advice is to try and do less. Try and put the ball in play instead of trying to hit the ball 500 feet. I guarantee that will give you a better result. We can tell you are hurting somewhere in your arm and the violent swing is not going to help you. You have quick hands, you know how to use it, just try and put the ball in play. If you look at the home run that he hit, it wasn’t one of those aggressive swings. He just put the ball in play. He’s got the power all ready."
Devers finished with just the one hit, but did walk twice while scoring a pair of runs.
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