BOSTON -- One night after Rafael Devers endured pure home run robbery when Nolan Jones stretched his arm over the Boston bullpen, the star slugger got one back on Tuesday.
Devers hit an unimpressive, Statcast-projected 311-foot fly ball that clanged off Pesky’s Pole. The ball left his bat at 92.9 mph and carried an expected batting average of .030.
Say hello to the shortest homer in MLB since Stephen Vogt hit one to that same spot on Sept. 18, 2019. It was the shortest homer for Devers by 27 feet, and that 338-foot poke came way back on Aug. 14, 2017 against Cleveland.
If only his team had won Tuesday’s game. In that case, Devers probably would have had more fun with it. Instead, this 7-6 loss to the Rockies in 10 innings left the reeling Red Sox with a 12-21 mark since May 7 and eight losses in their past 11 games.
“Yeah, I never hit a home run that short,” said Devers. “Of course, it’s something positive, but at the same time I don't feel right about the situation that the team is going through. So it's a tough, tough situation that we're going through right now."
Perhaps Devers is the Boston player most capable of turning a tough situation into a favorable one.
The third baseman could at last be on the verge of one of those patented hot streaks. In the bottom of the 10th with his team down by three runs, Devers unloaded for a two-run shot that was a certifiable missile.
This blast to right left his bat at 108.6 mph and traveled a projected distance of 410 feet. Per Statcast, it would have been a home run in all 30 MLB parks.
“Yeah, of course, it feels good to hit a ball out of the park,” said Devers. “I know when I feel right, I try to hit the ball the other way. Right now, I’m trying to be consistent with my timing and find my timing, so that’s where I’m at right now.”
In his past five games, Devers has four homers. For an offense that scored more than five runs in a game for the first time since June 3, the resurgence of Devers could be big.
“I mean, he’s taking great at-bats, hitting the ball all over the place,” said Red Sox first baseman Justin Turner. “He was robbed of a homer yesterday. Could have been three in two days. Had a really nice play made on him in New York that could have been a few more RBIs, but he’s swinging the bat really well.”
Devers has been working overtime in pursuit of his “A” swing.
“Yeah, I've been working really hard with [assistant hitting coach] Luis [Ortiz] and the other hitting coaches in the cage,” said Devers. “I’ve been feeling really well, really good the last two series and I just need to keep getting better and keep improving in the next coming days.”
At 33-35, the Red Sox are two games under .500 for the first time since April 14. They can’t afford to let this current rut go on much longer.
Which makes it more important than ever that Devers turns this mini-roll into a prolonged hot streak.
“Like yesterday, even the foul ball to left field, he was straight to the ball,” said manager Alex Cora. “He’s been hot the whole week hitting the ball out of the ballpark. He hit the Pesky one, then he crushed the other one.”
There wasn’t enough offense beyond Devers in Tuesday's defeat, as the Sox went 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base.
“Got to keep grinding,” said Cora. “At one point, we’re going to go the other way. Keep playing hard, clean up a few things, and go from there.”
Devers put it in even simpler terms.
“It’s a tough stretch, but we’re going to get over it, “ said Devers.
And when they do, it will likely be their left-handed-hitting slugger who is leading the charge.