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BOSTON — The Red Sox spent the first half of their season getting little in the way of offensive contributions from projected regulars Jarren Duran, Carlos Narváez and Masataka Yoshida. Now, Boston’s hoping the first game after the All-Star break is a sign of things to come for that trio.
Duran, Narváez and Yoshida combined to drive in seven runs in a 10-0 Red Sox rout of the Rays in Game 1 of a doubleheader. Using everything from bunts to no-doubt home runs, the trio helped the Red Sox to a 15-hit output as the club stretched its season-long winning streak to 10 games.
“We’ve talked a lot about execution and what the game gives back to you if you play team baseball,” said interim manager Chad Tracy. “It’s giving back to them right now.”
Yoshida, hitting fifth against righty Griffin Jax, fell a triple short of the cycle in the win. He placed a rolling double down the left field line to spur a two-run first inning, homered around Pesky’s Pole (on a ball hit just 87 mph) in the fourth and singled and scored in the sixth. He had three hits and an RBI to continue a hot streak that has seen him hit .357 with a 1.007 OPS in a 17-game stretch dating back to June 10.
“He’s had a couple good weeks,” Tracy said. “He’s getting good matchups and he’s taking advantage. He’s taking really good swings, the balls are hit hard. Even some of the outs are hit hard. He’s obviously swinging the bat great and giving us a lift.”
Duran was the victim of some bad luck in the second when he smoked a ball to deep center (at 104 mph) but Jonny Deluca caught it on the run. In the sixth, the baseball gods paid Duran back when he laced a chopper (also hit 104 mph) that glanced off the glove of second baseman Ben Williamson and into left field for a two-run single. Duran also made a series of impressive sliding catches in the blowout, kicking off his second half on a positive note after hitting a dismal .194 with a .609 OPS in his first 87 games of the year.
“With some at-bats he needed to execute, it was really good,” Tracy said.
Narváez, hitting eighth, matched a career-high in hits. He had an RBI single in the second, plated another run on a successful bunt single as part of a six-run Red Sox sixth — and then launched a no-doubt, 412-foot solo homer over the Green Monster off righty Chris Roycroft in the eighth.
For Narváez, who hit just .188 with two homers, six doubles and a .524 OPS in the first half, the swing was a relief.
“It’s been a grind. It’s not a secret,” he said. “It’s been a grind offensively for me but I’ve been working a lot. Early in the game, that’s what it’s all about. I don’t care how it’s gonna be. Just get the job done. I’ve been missing a lot of opportunities, but that’s in the past. It was about time.”
The Red Sox have climbed back to within a game of .500 with their rotation leading the way, but strong offensive performances from Willson Contreras, Ceddanne Rafaela — and lately, a surging Caleb Durbin, who had three more hits Friday — have helped. Duran, Yoshida and Narváez, though, haven’t clicked all year. If they do, the Red Sox’ offense will improve drastically, even with Roman Anthony on the injured list.
“It changes things. Obviously, it lengthens it,” Tracy said of a hypothetical hot streak for the trio. “And I wouldn’t just single (out) those three guys. For the better part of two-plus months, we had a lot of guys that were struggling. But some of those guys are starting to swing the bat really well.”
The Red Sox, Narváez said, met as a team at Citi Field on Sunday to discuss the importance of finishing the first half strong — and letting the good feelings carry through the four-day All-Star break, which saw players travel all over the world. Boston faced a big challenge with a doubleheader against the first-place Rays on the schedule to open the second half, and at least in Game 1, rose to the occasion with a well-played, total team win.
“One of our better games of the year, in my opinion,” said Durbin. “Coming out of the break firing on all cylinders was fun to be a part of.
“Momentum’s a real thing in this game. We’ve got some momentum right now and we’re trying to ride it out for as long as possible.”
More Red Sox coverage
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- Some Things I Think I Think: It’s time to recognize the job done by Chad Tracy
- Red Sox starter ‘screamed,’ went ‘crazy’ with Chappy’s son after Wilyer Abreu’s homer
- How Wilyer Abreu’s ‘main focus’ from winter helped Red Sox to one of best wins of the year
- Red Sox reactions: Wilyer Abreu’s heroics (another 2-HR game) help win streak reach 12
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