Rafael Devers will get much of the headlines. Hitting a home run in five straight games - tying a Red Sox record - will do that.
But the real reality check that the Red Sox' 11-3 win over the Cardinals Sunday afternoon offered was just how important Tyler O'Neill is to this lineup and to this team.
O'Neill punctuated his return to St. Louis with his team-leading 11th home run of the season, coming on a 3-0 pitch in the first inning. He added single, marking just the second time since April 27 the outfielder has come away with a multi-hit game.
“It was awesome,” O’Neill told reporters. “Just like I remember it. Just to feel the positivity this entire weekend was really special for me.”
It's no accident that the Red Sox won on a day O'Neill did well. That's usually how the equation has been working this season.
In games O'Neill has had two or more hits, the Sox are 5-1, while totaling a 7-3 mark when he goes deep.
The righty hitter has become the element in the Sox' lineup which makes the whole thing go, as was the case with Justin Turner last season and was supposed to be in place with Trevor Story this year.
Sure, Devers is surely the centerpiece of the Red Sox' offensive equation. But as the Red Sox' recent downturn has shown, even when the slugger is doing his thing, if there isn't that Robin to his Batman it probably won't work. For example, during Devers' recent nine-game hit streak - in which he boasts a 1.117 OPS - he has only come up with runners in scoring position 11 times.
In other words, the opposition is making sure the non-$300 million hitters are causing problems. That's where O'Neill comes in.
O'Neill is still just 4-for-27 with runners in scoring position, but he has scored a team-leading 29 runs (crossing the plate three times Sunday). And when he does score at least once, the Sox own a 14-5 mark. And should perfectly paint the picture. It certainly did agianst the Cardinals.