Top-5 games by Red Sox hitters during the 2021 season
By Sean Penney
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.