Lucas Giolito details threats made by fans
Three days after Rafael Devers found himself as the talk of the baseball world, he was still being discussed. This time, however, the scuttlebutt had nothing to do with Craig Breslow, John Henry or playing first base.
"If you look at the numbers, he’s probably the best DH in the American League right now," Alex Cora told reporters after his team's 3-1 win over the Royals in Kansas City.
"I’m glad he’s on my team and I don’t have to pitch to him anymore. He’s an incredible hitter and we’re very lucky to have him," added Sunday's winning pitcher, Lucas Giolito.
What a difference a few days make. Welcome to the world of a Major League Baseball season.
Devers finished his three days in KC having torn up Royals pitching, going 7-for-12 with two walks a home run and six RBI. In the last week or so, he is living life as Cora described, as the best DH in the American League. And for the season, the only AL team that has better production out of that position is the Yankees.
And, yes, the Red Sox only got two hits out of their first basemen (Nick Sogard, Abraham Toro) over the past three games. But that, for now, doesn't feel like a worry. (Fact: When you have the kind of dynamic Devers has presented, it can make up for other lineup downturns.)
Then there is the conversation about the Red Sox.
Waking up Saturday morning, the issues were still lingering regarding Devers' refusal to play first base and his salvo toward "the GM." Henry and Co. had flown out to address the situation, adding to the awkwardness. The Red Sox lost a close one. And everyone was trying to figure out how this underachieving club would start to actual achieve against the likes of the red-hot Royals and Tigers.
But here we are.
The Red Sox have managed to at least adjust the narrative for now, breaking Kansas City's seven-game win streak with two straight victories. It was a weekend that was punctuated Sunday with a win that included Devers' seventh homer of the season, Wilyer Abreu's 10th, and Giolito's lock-down 6 2/3 innings in which he didn't give up an earned run.
The Red Sox sit at 22-20, two games behind the first-place Yankees, residing in one of the three Wild Card spots. It is the exact same record they possessed after 44 games a year ago. (For reference, they went on to play .500 baseball before taking off a bit on June 15.)
As for Devers, on May 12 last season he was hitting .287 with an .880 OPS with four homers. Right now, the batting average is .280 with an .888 OPS.
The point is that the Red Sox have landed at a palatable place regarding the existence of their place in the American League playoff race and their superstar slugger.
What these last few days shouldn't allow for are any "I-told-you-so's".
The Red Sox management of Devers' position switch could have been better, starting with the communication leading into spring training. The approach by the player and Devers toward preparing for the regular season was absolutely clunky, as those 15 strikeouts in the first 19 at-bats would suggest. And this most recent attempt by Devers to mark his territory by pushing back on Breslow and the idea of working out at first base remains a lingering problem for a team desperate for solutions.
Perhaps it's all simply a forgettable bump in the road for what will now be smooth highway for a team that is living life with exponentially higher expectations than last year's 22-20 club. These last couple of days have at least introduced that idea.
Maybe it was the presence of Dustin Pedroia at Kauffman Stadium. Perhaps it was Henry's plane being gassed up. Or there is the novel idea that the best version of the Red Sox were presented thanks to a few of the team's best players player playing at their best.