Red Sox: Rafael Devers reaches 100 career home runs

Red Sox star Rafael Devers reaches a milestone with his latest homer

Rafael Devers continues to pile up a list of impressive achievements rarely witnessed in Boston Red Sox history.

Boston rallied to defeat the New York Yankees on Friday behind a pair of home runs from Devers. Yankees ace Gerrit Cole blanked the Red Sox until a sac fly tied the game at one in the bottom of the fifth. Devers followed with a two-run blast to deep center that gave Boston a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Devers caught up to a 99 mph fastball from Cole and hammered it 412 feet into the Monster seats.

Two innings later, Devers put the game away by crushing a hanging curve from lefty reliever Nestor Cortes Jr. for a three-run homer to give Boston a 6-1 lead. It was the first home run that Cortes Jr. has allowed this season and only the sixth that Devers has collected against a lefty.

https://twitter.com/RedSox/status/1418755851276410890

The second home run of the game for Devers was also the 100th of his career. He’s the 33rd player to reach 100 homers in a Red Sox uniform but only the third to do so before the age of 25. Devers achieved this milestone in 486 career games. Only Ted Williams (467) and Tony Conigliaro (469) reached 100 career home runs in fewer games.

Devers also moved into a tie with Babe Ruth for the second-most home runs against the Yankees before the age of 25. They each hit 12 homers against their rivals from the Bronx by that age, trailing only the great Ted Williams (20). Ruth was primarily a pitcher during his tenure with the Red Sox and they didn’t put his bat in the lineup on a regular basis until his age-24 season in 1919, the last he spent with Boston before he was traded to the Yankees. It’s safe to say the same fate doesn’t await Devers.

The multi-homer game gave Devers 26 for the season, which is tied for third in the American League. His five-RBI performance also moved him into a tie with Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. for the major league-lead with 79.

This was the second multi-homer game of the season for Devers, with the first coming all the way back in April in Baltimore. He’s never had more than two multi-homer games in the same season.

The Red Sox Twitter account was kind enough to compile a highlight reel of all 100 home runs that Devers has tallied in his career. Enjoy!

The youth of the baby-faced Devers has been a running joke among fans for years but it really is impressive how much the 24-year-old has already accomplished. He’s reaching milestones at a historic pace to put himself in an elite tier in franchise history.