BOSTON (AP) — Rafael Devers has settled into his role as the designated hitter for the Boston Red Sox and said recently that he wasn’t changing his mind about moving to first base.
If he keeps going like this, why bother trying.
Devers homered leading off the bottom of the ninth inning against Pierce Johnson, sending the Red Sox to a 7-6 comeback win over the Atlanta Braves on Saturday night that snapped their four-game losing streak.
“I feel very comfortable right now,” he said through a team interpreter. “I have my routine and go out there every day and do my routine to get ready and I feel very comfortable as a DH.”
After Devers shared his feelings about not wanting to play first, Red Sox owner John Henry flew to share his opinions with the disgruntled slugger.
Henry, team president Sam Kennedy and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow flew to Kansas City to meet with Devers and manager Alex Cora on May 9.
But after a historically slow start to the season, Devers has been hot at the plate. He’s reached base 19 of his past 20 games, hitting .397 with six homers and 20 RBIs in that stretch.
“He’s been swinging the bat well, taking his walks,” Alex said. “That first weekend, whoever has an explanation of what happened there, give me a call and explain it because it was hard to see it and then he just changed. He’s been really good.”
On Saturday, he hit his first career walk-off.
“Obviously, very excited because of the type of game. For us to be able to come back and win this type of game means a lot,” Devers said. “And also to get it going with the team to get everybody excited.”
The Red Sox had tried to talk Devers into moving to first after regular first baseman Triston Casas was lost for the season following surgery on his left knee.
“He has his routine down,” Cora said. “He cares about us, he cares about the team and he wants to win. Right now, like I said before, he’s our DH and he’s done an outstanding job. … He’s probably the best DH in the American League right now.”
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Ken Powtak, The Associated Press