Wilyer Abreu was the Boston Red Sox's most impressive hitter, by far, in the early weeks of the season.
Abreu missed almost all of spring training with a gastrointestinal illness. He lost a good amount of weight and the Red Sox expected a bit of muscle went with it, but Abreu raked in the Sox's opening series.
The right fielder went 7-for-10 with a staggering 2.300 OPS to open the season against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field. He mashed two home runs on Opening Day, including a ninth-inning, game-winning bomb.
A month later, when the Sox and Rangers met again at Fenway Park, a trend emerged. Abreu loves to hit against Texas — he went 4-for-12 with two runs and three RBI in the three-game series. Two of his four hits were home runs in the May 7 tilt for his second two-homer game of 2025 and the third of his career. The first also came against Texas.
Abreu was upset, wearing his emotions on his face during the Sox's August 4, 2024 game in Arlington. He mashed two homers off Nathan Eovaldi and Walter Pennington and rounded the bases each time with a stoic expression, but took the field after his first blast with tears in his eyes. Later, it was revealed that his grandmother had passed away that day.
HR No. 2 of the night, No. 9 of the season for Wilyer Abreu! pic.twitter.com/t0uq8NDU2U
— MLB (@MLB) May 8, 2025
All three two-homer games in Wilyer Abreu's Red Sox career have come against the Rangers
His sentimental outing began a pattern of utter dominance at the plate against the Rangers. Abreu is batting .487/.556/1.180 with a 1.735 OPS and eight home runs in 13 appearances against Texas in his young two-year career.
Unfortunately for the Red Sox and Abreu, their season series against the Rangers concluded on May 8. Texas reverse-swept Boston in their first series after Abreu's game-winning heroics, but the Sox walked away with the 2-1 series win at Fenway Park.
Abreu went 0-for-4 in his final appearance against the Rangers this year, but Boston got plenty of offensive lift from Rafael Devers, who went 2-for-3 with a homer, a walk and two RBI. Ceddanne Rafaela also had a day, going 2-for-2 with a double, a walk, a run and a stellar catch in the ninth inning.
Abreu opened May with three straight hitless appearances, but got hot again just before the Rangers came to town. Hopefully, his success against them sparks another streak at the plate for the right fielder, as the Red Sox's offense could do with a bit of consistency before they face a few tough teams on their upcoming road trip.