Red Sox Rankings: Top Five First Week Performances

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Apr 8, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Boston Red Sox left fielder Brock Holt (12) sticks out his tongue as he celebrates in the dugout after hitting a grand slam home run against Toronto Blue Jays in the fifth inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Brock Holt’s big grand slam and great game on April 9

When the Red Sox starting left fielder came up in the sixth inning of Saturday’s game in Toronto with the bases loaded and the Red Sox down 7-2, fans were just hoping Holt could move the line along to the big boppers to clear the bases with a homer. Showing remarkable power for a man who hit two homers last season in 129 games, Holt lined a Jesse Chavez pitch over the right field wall in a flash and the Red Sox were back in the game, 7-6. What was even more remarkable was that Holt had gone deep the game before in Cleveland, similarly pounding a laser over the right field wall there as well.

With that grand slam, Holt tallied five RBI on the day, spurring the Red Sox on to a sweet 8-7 victory over their division rivals. In the eighth inning with the tying run at second, Holt deftly handled a bullet off the bat of AL MVP Josh Donaldson that he threw over to first to preserve the Red Sox lead. The Texas native even gave a mock wiping of the brow after the play in the direction of pitcher Koji Uehara to say “whew, we just dodged a bullet there”. They could be the only two homers that Holt hits all season that he had on their successful road trip last week. None will be bigger than that grand slam on Saturday that led to the Red Sox victory.

Next: 3. Steven Wright start on April 10

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