Christian Arroyo carries the Red Sox to victory on Friday
The Red Sox stormed into Baltimore on Friday night, the final leg of their AL East road trip, in need of some wins. After losing two very winnable matchups against both Tampa and Toronto, Boston absolutely must win this weekend against the Orioles. Christian Arroyo left Canada hanging his head low as it was his play that cost the team a win on Thursday, but last night, he was the one that brought the victory home.
To give a bit of foundation here for everything that happened last night we have to look back to last week, seven days ago to be exact. That was the last time that any member of the Red Sox hit a home run in a game. That week-long drought is the longest homer-less streak since 2001, that’s right, pretty much how 2022 is going so far for the club.
If you had to put a bet down on which member of the team was going to send a ball out of the park I think even Arroyo would admit he’s near the bottom of that list. But we all know he has power in his bat and when he can connect with the right pitch that ball won’t land for days. Christian spoke about the homer after the game and that he wasn’t looking to knock one out but he sure enjoys doing it.
"“Homers are part of the game that are always fun, right?” Arroyo said. “It’s funny, every time you think about hitting homers, most of the time you don’t. Maybe if you’re Rafael Devers, because Raffy’s Raffy. For me, I know that I can’t go out there and think of trying to hit homers. Sometimes I can think maybe getting on a ball and trying to hit a ball hard, but I’m not necessarily going out there trying to hit home runs.”"
I don’t think there’s a member of Red Sox Nation that isn’t a fan of Christian Arroyo. And if you aren’t a fan, we can’t be friends. He’s the ideal person you want on your team and in your clubhouse as he has the ultimate team-first mentality. When it was clear that Boston was eyeing a free-agent second baseman, Arroyo gladly volunteered to go wherever he needed to in order for the team to win.
We’ve seen Arroyo all over the diamond so far in 2022 while also learning a new position in right field. He’s shown his athletic abilities in the outfield while also having a few gaffes here and there, understandably. In his time with the Red Sox, Christian has become a pretty clutch hitter, often coming through when he’s needed the most, and last night was another example. While his two-run homer came early in the game, it was the hit that brought the “W.”
"“I know he didn’t feel too great about what happened,” Cora said of Arroyo’s miscue Thursday. “He makes an error. We lose 1-0. That’s the beauty of baseball, right? You get a chance to redeem yourself and I’m happy that Christian put a good swing and helped us win the game.”"
Arroyo has played in 2/3 of Boston’s games this season and owns a .205/.220/.282 line and now has one homer. One of his bigger drawbacks so far into the early part of the season is a 21.4% strikeout rate. While it’s pretty much spot on with the 24.3% that he finished 2021 with, I’d love to see him at least get those walks up, just 2.4%.
To balance out learning his new position and having a more liquid role in the lineup, he can further help the team by being patient at the plate and getting on base as much as possible. This team is going to start hitting and it should start in the near future. This weekend against the Orioles can be one hell of a jumpstart for the offense and a guy that can be a part of that equation is Christian Arroyo. Just a day after being the one that hung another “L” on the club he gets to be the one that celebrates the hardest.