3 Red Sox players among MLB’s top playoff performers so far
By Sean Penney
The Red Sox have three of the top performers this postseason
The MLB postseason is far from over but with the divisional round wrapping up tonight, now is an opportune time to reflect on what we’ve witnessed this October. MLB.com did so by ranking the top 10 performances from the 2021 postseason so far, a list that includes three members of the Boston Red Sox.
Few expected the Red Sox to make it this far in the postseason but after they vanquished the New York Yankees in the Wild Card game and the top-seeded Tampa Bay Rays in the ALDS, it’s no surprise to anyone that Boston is well represented on this list of top performers.
The Red Sox are naturally leading many of the counting stat categories since they have played one more game than most of the remaining playoff teams. However, it’s notable that their lineup still leads the majors with a .328 batting average and .919 OPS this postseason. Boston has bashed 11 homers while none of the remaining playoff teams have tallied more than five.
The pitching might appear to be in the middle of the pack with a collective 4.13 ERA this postseason but that still puts the Red Sox ahead of every other American League team. The National League games have been much lower scoring this postseason so it’s no surprise the top-five pitching staffs in terms of ERA all come from the senior circuit.
The Red Sox lineup has been clicking and they’ve received some clutch performances from their pitching staff but let’s take a deeper look at the three players who made the cut on MLB.com’s top 10 list.