Rafael Devers is finally on the board. Wednesday night, the Red Sox’s third baseman-turned-DH picked up his first base hit of the new season following a nightmarish 0 for 21 start. He roped an RBI double to right field in the fifth inning against Orioles righty Zach Eflin for his first hit. Devers singled through the left side of the infield for his second hit of 2025 later in the game.
Here is Devers’ first hit of the new year. This came in his 26th plate appearances after factoring in his four walks:
The 0 for 21 to start the season is not particularly relevant, historically. There have been plenty of longer 0-fors to begin a new season. What makes Devers’ 0 for 21 especially ghastly is that he struck out 15 times, including at least three times in four of his five games. The 15 strikeouts are the most ever through a player’s first five games of a season.
The season-opening slump comes on the heels of Devers initially saying he would not move off third base in spring training, and then eventually accepting a full-time DH role. The Red Sox signed Alex Bregman, a far superior defender, near the start of the spring. Adding Bregman and moving Devers to DH improved Boston’s offense and defense.
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It should be noted that Devers nursed a shoulder issue in spring training and it delayed his spring debut until March 15. He got only 15 plate appearances in March, well below the 50 or so an everyday player normally gets in spring training. Devers did hit against live pitchers on the back fields, though there’s no substitute for game action.
Devers, 28, slashed .272/.354/.516 with 34 doubles and 28 home runs in 138 games last season. This is the second year on the 10-year, $313.5 million extension he signed January.
Thanks to Devers and eight shutout innings from newly extended ace Garrett Crochet, the Red Sox blanked the Orioles at Camden Yards on Wednesday (BOS 3, BAL 0).
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