The anatomy of Hunter Dobbins' big league debut
Sometimes we have to remind ourselves about the roller coaster that a 162-game Major League Baseball season presents. This past week, the Red Sox offered that dose of reality in huge neon letters.
The Red Sox went to bed Sunday night the owners of the majors' longest win streak thanks to a doubleheader sweep of the Cardinals at Fenway Park. The two victories - 5-4 and 18-7 - allowed for a series sweep of St. Louis while putting Alex Cora's club just 1/2-game out of first place in the American League East.
Exactly one week before, this same team was traveling to Baltimore carrying a 1-3 mark. Their ace, Garrett Crochet, wouldn't seemingly be signing a contract extension for at least the next six months. Rafael Devers had made history by going 0-for-16 with 12 strikeouts. And newcomer Alex Bregman was leading the big leagues by stranding 11 runners.
All-in-all, it hadn't been going well.
Seven days later, it's going really well.
In their last six games the Red Sox own the best batting average (.336) and OPS (.992) in all of baseball after hitting .194 with a .584 OPS in those first four games.
Devers now has hits in his last five games, going 10-for-19 (.526), with a 1.457 OPS, most recently notching four hits in as many at-bats in Game 2. The first game wasn't bad, either, with the Sox slugger clearing the left field wall for his first homer of the season.
Bregman has also found his stride, impressing in his introduction to the Red Sox’ home whites. The third baseman went 4-for-5 in the Sox’ Game 2 blowout win, notching his first home run of the season. He is now hitting .341 with a .974 OPS, putting the early-season struggles narrative in the rearview mirror.
"I’m really happy and really excited for the both of us," Devers said. "I feel really happy playing with him because he's a superstar. And as a whole team, we had a really great game, just up and down. And I think that's something that we can expect this year is for us to do performances like we did tonight."
"Everyone knew that it was just a matter of time,” Bregman added. “He's one of the best hitters in the game. He has been for pretty much the last decade. He's an extra base hit monster. His swing decisions have been incredible. He hits the ball harder than anyone, and it's really fun to hit after him, because I get a front row seat to it every night."
And while the likes of Devers and Bregman have kicked into the gear so many were expecting of them coming into the season, the players who hit the ground running from the start - Wilyer Abreu and Kristian Campbell - haven't let up.
Playing center field in Game 1 and second base in the the second game, Campbell became the third Red Sox player ever to reach base in each of their first 10 career games at age 22 or younger, in the live ball era joining George Scott (1966) and Ted Williams (1939).
And then there is Abreu, who is off to perhaps the best start of any player in baseball.
He started his Sunday by coming off the bench and getting two plate appearances, the second resulting in the first walk-off of his career, lofting a 10th-inning RBI double off the left field wall. He continued his hot streak with two more hits in Game 2, giving the 25-year-old the best batting average (.483), on-base percentage (.595), slugging percentage (.897) and OPS (1.492) of any qualifying player in MLB.
Contract extensions. Actual production from their superstars. Life at the top of the division standings. And wins.
What a difference a week makes. It's going to be a familiar refrain throughout the long baseball season, but it hits a bit different when uttered in April.