Sports on Draft

Trevor ‘Never-Ending’ Story hits another HR in Red Sox 16-7 win

It’s safe to say the 2022 Boston Red Sox have been a disappointment so far. With that said, they have been on a tear as of late. After stumbling out to an 11-20 record, and last place in the AL East, the Sox have since gone 10-3 and resurfaced in the early AL East race. Their is still a lot of ground to gain on the first place Yankees (32-13) but with the way the bats have been swinging the past week it’s fair to say Boston is the HOTTEST offense right now.

The Red Sox have finally been meeting expectations they had heading into the season. The blame is easy to point for the rough start, Boston’s offense hasn’t been able to sustain early runs, and bullpens choke away great outings from their starters. But ever since the series in Texas on May 13 the Red Sox bats have finally hit full stride. Through the first 30 games the Red Sox offense was being drug along by Xander Bogaerts, J.D. Martinez, and Rafael Devers, with the 3 stars hitting above a .325 avg. combined, and that’s great, accept for the fact that the other 6 batters in the lineup were hitting a combined .190 avg. But immediately after the Texas series Trevor Story, Boston’s biggest offseason acquisition, bat came alive. Story went on to hit his first HR in Fenway against the Houston Astros. In a rematch of last years ALCS, and with Boston coming off their second series win of the season in Texas, Story brought the extra bat that Boston had been missing all season.

Since, than Trevor Story has been THE STORY, batting .333 (13-for-39) over the past 10 games with 8 HR’s, 22 RBI’s, 6 Walks and 3 Stolen Bases, including a 3 HR game against the Mariners in Fenway. After being booed early in the season against the Angels for his plate struggles Story has found his way into the heart of Boston fans. This is the man Boston signed to a 6yr $140mil deal in the offseason. His defensive skills have not been the issue, nor has any of Boston’s defense (aside from the bullpen). Last night Boston got it’s second 16 run game of the week… just saying that is insane, this is a team that was struggling to plate anyone and now has scored 100 runs over the last 13 games (since the game against the Texas Rangers.) It’s clear Boston’s offense has been revived by Trevor Story’s bat.

In early May Story was batting .194, with 35 strikeouts, 10 RBI’s, and zero home runs. Since the second week of May he’s had 9 HR’s, 27 RBIs and only 18 strikeouts. Story now has 32 RBI’s in the month of may he’s plated 21 over the last 7 games, a feat no Red Sox player has accomplished since 1920, and the last to do so in the Majors was Edwin Encarnacion in Aug. of 2015 according to Elias Sports Bureau. If Trevor story can get another 10 RBIs before May is over he will break Ted Williams record of 41 in the month. Considering the way he’s been hitting I wouldn’t say it’s out of reach for the Sox new star.

If Story keeps this up he’ll be looking to potentially join Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers in the All Star Game, however I wouldn’t be surprised if ‘The Author’ (as he’s been dubbed by some Boston fans and broadcasters) has a Player of the Month coming his way.

Needless to say Boston has been needing a burst of energy, something to get their season back on track and Trevor Story has been that guy. The team heads back home tonight against the Baltimore Orioles. With a lot of ground still to cover the Red Sox have a ways to go before they can start getting comfortable again but they are finally starting to look like the team that was only 2 wins away from a World Series last year.

If Boston’s bullpen can continue to hold onto the games like they have been we could see the Red Sox close the gap in the East. As May ends the Red Sox look to carry this hype into June, and with the return of Chris Sale just around the corner this Boston team may become the most dominant team down the stretch. Until than they still have a long way to go but the recent success is something to get fans excited for.

Featured Image Courtesy of boston.com