Top-5 games by Red Sox hitters during the 2021 season
These Red Sox hitters put on a show during the 2021 season
The Boston Red Sox exceeded expectations in 2021 by claiming a Wild Card spot and making a valiant run to the ALCS. A powerful offense that ranked fifth in the majors in runs scored helped fuel this drastic turnaround following a dismal 2020 season that saw the club sink to the bottom of their division.
One of the top scoring teams in the league naturally had plenty of impressive performances at the plate throughout the season. Narrowing down a list of the best of those performances is a tall task and the results may vary depending on your criteria.
Run production matters. Racking up three or four hits can do wonders for a player’s batting average but it feels a bit empty if they aren’t driving anyone in or coming around to score. Every player on my list had a multi-homer game.
I didn’t use the same player twice. A case can be made for certain star players producing several of the best performances this year but what’s the fun in that? I’m highlighting five different players for their best game this season.
Many of these performances came in blowouts but in cases where a player had multiple games with similar production, the closer game where that production mattered more served as a tie-breaker.
I’m also sticking with the regular season. The Red Sox made history when they smashed three grand slams in the ALCS against the Houston Astros. All three of those players conceivably could have made the list considering their production and the magnitude of the moment but then the majority of this slideshow would focus on one series. We’ll leave that for another time.
With that in mind, here are my five favorite regular season performances by a Red Sox hitter this year.
Red Sox outfielder Hunter Renfroe drives in a handful
The Minnesota Twins jumped on the Red Sox early during a visit to Fenway Park in August to take a 3-1 lead midway through the game. Hunter Renfroe quickly flipped the script in the bottom of the fourth inning with a three-run homer against Twins starter Griffin Jax to put the Red Sox ahead by a run.
Boston would tack on five more runs in the following inning, capped by a two-run blast to left field by Renfroe that chased Jax from the game. Minnesota’s starter gave up nine earned runs with Renfroe responsible for driving in five of them.
The Twins rallied over then next two innings to cut the lead to one. A Kike Hernandez two-run homer gave the Red Sox a cushion to work with, which proved vital when Matt Barnes coughed up a homer to Josh Donaldson in the ninth. Boston would hang on to win the game 11-9 but they would have been in danger of falling short without the pair of home runs from Renfroe.
Renfroe finished the day 2-for-4 with the two home runs and five RBI. It was his second multi-homer game of the year and the RBI total set a season-high.
Kyle Schwarber terrorizes the Mets in a Red Sox uniform
Kyle Schwarber fuels the nightmares of the New York Mets pitching staff. Schwarber had six multi-home run games this season, four of which were against the Mets, including a three-homer game.
Most of that damage was done as a division rival of the Mets when he was a member of the Washington Nationals. Schwarber only had one multi-homer game after he was acquired by the Red Sox at the trade deadline. Naturally, he saved it for when the Mets came to town in September.
Schwarber wasted no time in reminding the Mets of the terror he’s caused them, taking Taijuan Walker deep for a solo shot in the first inning. They would face each other again in the second inning with a similar result, only this time the deep fly to right field drove in three runs. Walker, who earned his first All-Star appearance this year, was shelled for six runs to match a season-high.
The Mets made a pitching change before Schwarber’s third plate appearance but it didn’t matter who they threw at him. Schwarber dropped a double down the third base line to lead off the bottom of the fourth inning. A Xander Bogaerts single put runners on the corners with nobody out. While the chance for a big inning slipped away when Rafael Devers grounded into a double play, it still allowed Schwarber to cross home plate for the third time in the game to put Boston ahead 9-1.
Mets reliever Trevor Williams wasn’t going to mess with the red-hot Schwarber when he led off in the sixth inning, walking him on four straight pitches. Schwarber ended up scoring anyway on a Verdugo groundout.
Brad Hand finally figured out a way to get Schwarber out in the eighth inning but it was a loud out, a deep fly ball to right-center field. The Red Sox had already piled up a dozen runs by that point and cruised to a victory.
Rafael Devers drives the Red Sox into the postseason
The Red Sox were in a tight race with the division rival Yankees and Blue Jays that went down to the wire. Boston could clinch the top Wild Card spot with a win but a loss threatened to knock them out of the postseason picture. Rafael Devers saved his best for last with a performance against the Washington Nationals that secured Boston’s playoff spot.
The Red Sox trailed by a pair of runs until Devers finally put his team on the board with a solo shot to deep center against Nationals starter Joan Adon.
The outlook was bleak with Boston trailing by three runs in the seventh inning. With the Red Sox clinging to their playoff hopes, Devers ignited a rally with a base hit up the middle that drove in a run and moved Xander Bogaerts to third base. An Alex Verdugo double would drive in both runners to tie the game later that inning.
Devers came through in the clutch in the ninth inning with a line drive to center that cleared the fence for a game-winning two-run homer against right-hander Kyle Finnegan. Nick Pivetta came out of the bullpen to slam the door shut in the bottom of the inning, sending Boston to the postseason.
Devers was 4-for-5 with two homers and four RBI in the game. The four hits were a season-high. It was his fourth multi-home run game of the season. While Devers had a pair of five-RBI games this year, the high stakes in this win-or-go-home situation vault this regular season finale to the top of his outstanding performances.
Red Sox rookie Bobby Dalbec sets career-high in RBI
Bobby Dalbec‘s struggles to begin his rookie campaign nearly cost him his roster spot. The first baseman hit a woeful .219 with a .673 OPS in the first half of the season. His underwhelming production made the Red Sox so desperate to find a replacement at the trade deadline that they tried to convert Schwarber into a first baseman despite that he barely had any experience at the position.
Perhaps that was all the motivation Dalbec needed to remind the Red Sox of why he was a prized prospect. Dalbec had a scorching month of August, hitting .339 with a 1.205 OPS and seven home runs in 24 games that month.
The highlight of his miraculous turnaround came during a shellacking of the Twins on August 26. Dalbec put Boston on the board with a three-run homer in the second inning against Twins starter John Gant.
A pair of runners reached base to begin the sixth inning and a wild pitch moved them both into scoring position for Dalbec. A line drive to center fell in for a base hit to chase those runners home.
One inning later, Dalbec piled on with a two-run homer to give the Red Sox a 12-2 lead that would stand as the final score.
Dalbec had three multi-homer games this year but his seven RBI in this game against the Twins was a career-high.
J.D. Martinez has a three-homer game with the Red Sox
No Red Sox hitter was more eager to put the disastrous 2020 season behind them than J.D. Martinez. It didn’t take long for him to prove his bat was back on track.
The Red Sox were seeking revenge on the Orioles for sweeping them in the season-opening series at Fenway. They got it by taking all three games in Baltimore the following weekend, capped by a monstrous performance by Martinez in the series finale.
Boston jumped out to an early lead in the third inning with back-to-back homers by Alex Verdugo and Martinez. The veteran DH had to settle for a solo shot after his teammate cleared the bases with a three-run shot.
Martinez added a base hit through the left side of the infield in the fifth inning to drive in a run, sending Orioles starter Jorge Jopez to an early shower. He would come around to score on a three-run homer by Devers as the Red Sox started to run away with a 9-1 lead.
Another run was tacked on when Martinez led off the sixth inning with a solo shot to deep right field.
Baltimore started to chip away at the lead over the next few innings to cut their deficit to three. Martinez grabbed the momentum back for Boston with another solo shot in the eighth inning. The Red Sox would score three more runs in the inning to double up the Orioles 14-7, which would hold as the final score.
The Red Sox managed 14 runs but somehow struggled to get anyone on base in front of Martinez. Three homers and all of them with the bases empty. His only opportunity to drive in a run, aside from himself, was on his RBI single. The four hits and four RBI both matched his season high.
Martinez had a three-homer game during his tenure with the Tigers plus a four-homer game with the Diamondbacks in 2017. This was his first three-home run game in a Red Sox uniform though. Martinez is the first Red Sox hitter to collect three home runs in a single game since Mookie Betts in 2019. Betts did it five times during his time in Boston, more than any hitter in franchise history.
The home runs would dwindle following his early power surge but Martinez still finished with a respectable 28 while leading the league with 42 doubles. His brutal 2020 season is now a distant memory as Martinez reminded us that he’s still one of the game’s most feared hitters.
Next. 10 greatest hitters in Red Sox history. dark