Will Red Sox powerhouse offense continue in the postseason?
The Red Sox offense has really been great all season. With the help of J.D. Martinez seems like that’s the big bat they needed in the lineup.
The Boston Red Sox have the best record in baseball 93-43. They also hold a 7.5 game lead over the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. With the lack of consistency with the bullpen, the offense has picked up the slack in a big way.
The two leaders in the lineup are Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez. The two-time Gold-Glove winner Betts leads in batting average with .341 while his fellow MVP candidate Martinez leads in home runs with 39.
Everyone in the lineup gets hits, even Jackie Bradley Jr. The question remains, can the Red Sox offense continue to hit in the postseason? I say yes, they will. The difference is not only do they have a great power hitter in Martinez but also a manager who is a good leader and can connect with his players.
The Red Sox have already matched their win total from last season and it’s only September 1. They have also more home runs than they did last season. Last year they had 168, this year so far they have 178. The offense has a better collective batting average than last season. This year it’s .269 so far, last season it was.258.
In the month of March/April, the Red Sox hit 32 home runs and had 150 RBI’s as a team. They stole 17 bases and had a team average of .273 to go along with a .790 OPS. In May, they had 50 home runs and 138 RBI’s with a .261 batting average and .802 OPS. They also stole 22 bases. In June, the red-hot Red Sox had 38 home runs, 128 RBI’s, and 25 steals with a batting average of .267 and a OPS of .781.
The Red Sox slid a little in July and only hit 24 home runs but they had 124 RBI’s and 18 steals. Boston posted a batting average of .272 with an OPS of .785 that month.
Finally, last month, the Red Sox hit 34 home runs with 154 RBI’s and 19 steals. They produced a batting average of .275 with an OPS of 819.
Overall, the Red Sox have been caught stealing 29 times this season and have been successful 101 times.
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The Red Sox lineup has a .267 batting average this season. In innings 1-3, they have 59 home runs and 228 RBI’s with an average of .262 and a .775 OPS. During Innings 4-6, they have 70 home runs and 256 RBI’s withf .280 average and .829 OPS. For innings 7-9, they have 44 home runs and 196 RBI’s with an average of .262 an OPS of .769.
Against starting pitching this season, the Red Sox offense has 113 home runs 396 RBI’s and an average of .274 with a .811 OPS.
People can say the competition is bad but this Red Sox offense has been great against potential playoff teams. Against the Indians, Astros, Yankees, and Athletics, the Red Sox have 33 home runs and a 143 RBI’s. The team’s batting average against New York this season is .279. They have hit .239 vs Houston, .308 vs Cleveland and .222 vs Oakland. The 17 home runs and 78 RBI that the Red Sox have collected against the Yankees are the most against any of the likely playoff teams. Safe to say the Red Sox have the Yankees number this season.
The Red Sox have the same offense as last year, pretty much. The only additions they have are Martinez, Ian Kinsler, and Steve Pearce. Martinez has been a big difference in the middle of the lineup and he will continue to do so. But that whole offense has better numbers this year than they did last year.
We still have a month left in this year’s regular season. However, overall, what a difference a year makes when they actually want to play for a manager. All those stats listed above is why the offense will continue to be great in the postseason.