The Boston Red Sox have broken out the bats over the last two games, piling up home runs at a rate we haven’t seen in over a decade.
We knew this lineup couldn’t be held down for long. The Boston Red Sox had hit a bit of a lull lately with notable issues hitting with runners in scoring position. It doesn’t matter which base the runners are on when you’re hitting the ball out of the park.
The Red Sox have burst out with a barrage of home runs, tallying 11 over the last two games. They blasted at least five in each, marking the first time since 2002 that the club has hit 5+ homers in consecutive games.
This is the first time in 17 years the Red Sox have hit 5+ HR in consecutive games (last: July 2002).
— J.P. Long (@SoxNotes) June 15, 2019
Boston needed every one of those long balls to beat the Rangers on Thursday. They hung seven runs on Texas, all of which scored on a home run. Four of their five home runs were solo shots while Jackie Bradley Jr. added a three-run blast to ignite the comeback after David Price had been shelled early.
Rafael Devers tied the game in the fifth inning with his home run and Xander Bogaerts came through with the game-winner in the following frame.
The bullpen deservedly gets credit for picking up Price with 7 2/3 scoreless innings but the Red Sox still needed their offense to climb out of that early hole.
They didn’t need all six home runs in Friday’s 13-2 route in Baltimore but the Red Sox had no qualms about taking out their frustrations on the Orioles pitching staff. Trey Mancini put the O’s on the board first with a solo shot but the Red Sox responded by punishing their opponent with an avalanche of runs that put the game away by the fifth inning.
J.D. Martinez led the way against the O’s with a pair of home runs, giving him a team-high three homers over the last two games. Martinez was off to a bit of a slow start in the power department this year but he now has a team-leading 15 home runs, moving him up to 15th in the American League and back on pace for nearly 40. His .950 OPS is sixth in the league so it’s safe to way that J.D. is in mid-season form.
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Bradley is on a hot streak of late with a pair of homers and a team-high 5 RBI in the last two games. The notoriously streaker hitter is 9-for-25 (.360) in his last seven games to raise his average to .211 for the season. They aren’t cheap hits either, with three homers and three doubles in that span.
Michael Chavis is the other hitter in the lineup with home runs in each of the last two games. The rookie had hit a wall lately but may be starting to turn it back on. He ended a 20-game home run drought with his solo shot against the Rangers and followed with a two-run rocket that traveled 447 feet to center field in Baltimore.
Christian Vazquez and Brock Holt aren’t known for their power but each has contributed to this home run surge in the last two games.
Boston’s lineup hasn’t been the powerhouse it was last season but their sudden outburst has pushed them up to third in the league in OPS, fourth in runs scored and sixth in home runs.
We’ll see if the offense can keep rolling but nothing gets a lineup on track like a trip to Camden Yards. If the Red Sox can continue to beat up on the Orioles this weekend then the momentum can help carry them back into contention.