It is early May and unless you are an avid baseball fan, you probably have not been paying attention to the Boston Red Sox and the eight-game win streak the team just went on in the past week and a half. Before April 29th, Boston’s record was a disheartening 13 wins to 14 losses, with some fans already considering the 2023 season a lost one. Then something incredible happened, starting April 29th, the Red Sox would embark on a chaotic eight-game hot streak that saw outlandish performances from many players.
The Red Sox would receive some outstanding pitching from their bullpen during this eight-game stretch of the season which was one of the primary reasons they were able to win so often. Pitchers such as Chris Sale, Corey Kluber, Kenley Jansen, Josh Winckowski, and others have been dominant this season which sparked this nice win streak Boston would go on. The emergence of Jarren Duran and Masataka Yoshida has been critical for Boston as these two have turned it on as of late.
Duran now 26 years old, initially struggled in the big leagues, hitting only a .215 batting average in 2021 and .221 in 2022 when currently his BA is .372. Durran has changed his mindset as a hitter and tries to attack every pitch now whereas he was timid in prior seasons. “It was just an approach I took to better myself mentally and physically, just take a positive approach to everything, try not to beat myself up too much,” Jarren Duran said. Rosenthal: Red Sox’s Jarren Duran gets a boost from Dustin Pedroia, plus Yankees’ future and deGrom’s value - The Athletic.
Masataka Yoshida has quite a different story as this is the 29-year-old’s first season in Major League Baseball. Yoshida is from Japan and his rights were “posted” from NPB (Nippon Professional Baseball) Japan’s highest level of pro baseball. The Red Sox signed Yoshida to a 5 year 105.4 million dollar deal in December and many thought Yoshida showed promise but already being 29 years old scared some fans. Yoshida was quiet for the first 30 games of the season but during this recent eight-game hot streak, he has been nothing short of exceptional. Yoshida’s batting average during the eight-game streak was .295 which is sensational, not to mention he got a hit every game, racked up 8 RBIs, and hit two home runs. So far, Yoshida’s play has garnered him the right to that 105 million dollar contract he signed in December. Boston Red Sox: 5 reasons for the surprise turnaround in 2023 - Page 6
The Boston Red Sox continue to surprise many around the league with solid pitching, the emergence of youth talent, and the continued dominance of Rafael Devers. Devers just signed a massive 10-year contract worth nearly 314 million dollars to remain in Boston for the rest of his career. Red Sox make Rafael Devers’ contract extension official; here are the details. This was somewhat of a surprising move as the Red Sox have been known to trade or not even sign back star players in past years but the team was intent on keeping Devers around. Devers is batting .248 currently which isn’t his best but he does have 11 home runs already which is top five in all of Major League Baseball.
This Red Sox eight-game may have not only gotten them back in the win column, but it truly might have awoken a sleeping giant. Boston’s hot streak has continued into this week and they will look to keep proving doubters wrong for the remainder of the season.
Editor: Joan Andrew Ramadan
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