The hype surrounding the Boston Red Sox has died down since their home opener at Fenway Park. Boston has spent considerably less time in the win column recently, but the batting order can still do some damage.
The Red Sox don't hit a ton, but when they do, they hit big. Boston ranks 20th in MLB with 145 hits on the season so far. The Dodgers rank first on the hits list with 190 in 21 games.
It should be stated that the Dodgers have played more games than every team except the Padres, who rank third on the hits list. The two clubs started their season a bit earlier than the rest of MLB — they kicked off on March 20 in Seoul while Opening Day proper was on March 28.
When it comes to long balls, though, the Red Sox are in a great spot. And if MLB's standings were rearranged to favor well-slugging teams, the Sox would be near the top.
MLB Standings ordered by home runs: Red Sox surprisingly bringing the power
Boston's batting order features some typical heavy-hitters and players who have gotten off to a hot start at the plate, which has brought the Sox to a tie with four other clubs for the third-most homers in the league.
Tyler O'Neill holds a spot on MLB's home run leaderboard and he spent quite a while in first place — he's posted seven bombs early in the year. Triston Casas follows close behind O'Neill with five homers of his own. The first baseman started a bit slow at the plate in the power department, but he's found his way in recent games. Casas has hit three home runs in the Sox's two recent series against the Angels alone.
Team | Home Runs |
|---|---|
Baltimore Orioles | 30 |
Los Angeles Dodgers | 26 |
Boston Red Sox | 24 |
Houston Astros | 24 |
Milwaukee Brewers | 24 |
San Diego Padres | 24 |
Kansas City Royals | 23 |
Boston's catchers have been having great success at the plate, as well. Connor Wong has three homers and Reese McGuire has two.
Gunnar Henderson is leading the charge for the first-place Orioles with six round-trippers. One of Henderson's home runs came in extra innings against the Red Sox on April 11, and two other O's who homered against the Sox have also contributed heavily to Baltimore's lead. Jordan Westburg and Anthony Santander each have four long balls.
The Dodgers' home run leaderboard will sting a little for Sox fans. Mookie Betts tops their list with six and Teoscar Hernández follows with five. Hernández reportedly chose between the Red Sox and Dodgers in free agency this winter and LA ended up winning out. Had he chosen Boston, his five homers would have placed the Sox in second place over the Dodgers.
The Sox are all tied up with the Astros, Brewers and Padres with 24 bombs. Most of Houston's homers are split between three players — José Altuve, Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker each have five on the year. Christian Yelich leads Milwaukee with five home runs and rookie Jackson Chourio has three. Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado lead San Diego with five and four, respectively.
The majority of the Red Sox's home runs have been solos so they haven't helped them win too many games. When Boston homers, it tends to come in waves. O'Neill and Casas have homered back-to-back twice this year and the Sox have already posted two three-homer innings.
Hopefully, the Sox can find power more consistently and with more players on base so their home run total can translate better to their win total. After all, that's the only stat that matters for the standings.