May 20, 2024, 08:51 pm Eastern Time
STREET. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Boston Red Sox star Rafael Devers set a team record when he homered for the sixth consecutive game in Monday night’s 5-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.
Devers had shared the mark of five with Jimmie Foxx (1940), Ted Williams (1957), Dick Stuart (1963), George Scott (1977), José Canseco (1995) and Bobby Dalbec (2020).
“He’s a phenomenon,” said Red Sox winning pitcher Tanner Houck. “A guy who can hit any pitch at any time, and seeing what he’s done, I mean, he’s just an unbelievable player.”
He is the first major league player to do so since Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels had a seven-game streak from September 4-12, 2022.
“I’m very proud to be in that conversation with him,” Devers said through an interpreter. “We obviously know the type of superstar he is. He’s a future Hall of Famer and a superstar, and to be on the same level as him is very nice.”
Boston’s Rafael Devers is the first major league player to hit a home run in six consecutive games since the Angels’ Mike Trout had a seven-game streak from Sept. 4-12, 2022. Douglas P. DeFelice//Keynote USA/Getty Images
Michael Busch of the Chicago Cubs had a five-game home run streak earlier this season.
Tampa Bay starter Taj Bradley struck out eight of his first nine batters entering the fourth. Devers was the only Boston batter to put the ball in play down the stretch, hitting a return grounder that Bradley deflected to second baseman Brandon Lowe.
After Jarren Durán tripled in the fourth and scored on Wilyer Abreu’s double, Devers homered from opposite field to left field.
“I wasn’t thinking about that right now.” Devers said of the puck. “It was mainly about hitting the ball well in the air with guys in scoring position. For me, being able to help the team and come out ahead with two runs at that time was a great moment. But yeah, of course, when I got to En dugout and saw my teammates, it was a special moment, without a doubt.
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The home run was Devers’ 10th of the season and extended his hitting streak to 10 games.
Both Boston manager Alex Cora and Devers agree that the slugger is not yet assured at the plate.
“But the achievement is amazing,” Cora said. “Six days in a row hitting home runs. Shoot, I don’t remember how many days in a row I got hits when I played.”
Devers’ six-game home run streak also tied the longest by a third baseman in the last 100 seasons, joining Colorado’s Nolan Arenado (2015), Houston’s Morgan Ensberg (2006) and San Diego’s Graig Nettles (1984). .
Keynote USA Stats & Information and The Keynote USA contributed to this report.
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