Does Boston’s High Octane Offense Have Staying Power?

Jun 10, 2013; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox right fielder Daniel Nava (29) hits a RBI double during the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Who woulda thunk it? Going into last night’s marathon 14-inning, teeth clenching win over the Tampa Bay Rays the Boston Red Sox were the number one overall offensive team in the majors. There’s some very good reasons for that.

When Mike Carp, a utility first baseman, stands in the batter’s box as the number six hitter in the lineup batting .318 – 11-25 in his last 8 games – pitchers have to take notice. Daniel Nava has an .867 OPS, 2nd among AL outfielders.

Dustin Pedroia is simply killing it right now – .331, .416, .457, .873 – and David Ortiz is batting .313 and challenging in a number of offensive categories after getting a late start to his season due to his achilles problems.

Boston’s offense scores more runs per game (5.3), whacks a lot of home runs (74, 7th), and is first in the majors with 53 first inning runs. Last night Boston’s first eight hitters in a row got a hit or reached safely, setting up a six run outburst that they eventually and regrettably would need after both starting pitching (John Lackey) and relief pitching (everybody else) collapsed and the Sox would need every run to secure a 10-8 win.

Take a look at tonight’s starting lineup:

Not too shabby. The offense couldn’t have kicked in at a better time with Boston’s pitching starting to slump. If this keeps up and Boston actually finds a closer – Andrew Bailey will simply not get it done – they could remain a very dangerous team.

For more Sox stats see Earl Nash’s piece Surprising Sox Dominating Offense Leads MLB and the AL East.

What do you think?