It looked like the Boston Red Sox had once again flipped a switch following an embarrassing home sweep at the hands of the St. Louis Cardinals. Boston took two of three against two teams that were involved in the 2022 postseason, the Seattle Mariners and San Diego Padres, before preparing to face off against a team that hadn't made the postseason since 2014.
The final game of that Padres series saw Boston's offense fail to show up, as the team was shut out. I, and most of Red Sox nation did not bat an eye, as the offense had been what had helped Boston get off to the great start they had gotten off to. The Red Sox were 26-21 heading into this series against the Angels and had taken three of four from Los Angeles at Fenway Park in April.
The script was completely flipped this time around. Boston looked completely lifeless in all three games and got swept in brutal fashion. They scored four runs in three games against well below-average pitching. The whole team with the exception of Tanner Houck and Brayan Bello deserves blame, but these three players stick out in particular.
1) Boston Red Sox player to blame for being swept: Rafael Devers
When is it time to start talking about Rafael Devers? I love Devers. I'm very aware that he's tied for second in the AL with 13 home runs and is third in the league with 44 RBI, but he's also having one of his worst offensive seasons in years.
Devers is slashing .249/.290/.513 on the season which gives him an OPS of .803. Normally an .803 OPS is good, but it'd be Devers' lowest mark in a 162-game season since 2018 when he had a .731 OPS. This is excluding the 60-game 2020 season.
The power has been there, but that's about it. He's behind guys like Masataka Yoshida, Alex Verdugo, and even Jarren Duran in OPS. I like all three of those players, but c'mon.
Devers had a two home run game in San Diego but ended that series going hitless in his final eight at-bats. We saw this carry over in a big way in this series.
Devers recorded just two hits, both singles, in 11 at-bats. We even saw Devers inexplicably try to bunt in the first game of the series leading off the seventh inning.
The Red Sox need more from their superstar, especially when the rest of the offense is struggling to piece anything together. Boston has scored four runs in their last four games. Devers having two hits in 15 at-bats in those games is a huge reason why.