Jackie Bradley Jr. Extends Hitting Streak to 17 Games

Jackie Bradley Jr. extended his hitting streak to 17 games tonight and the Boston Red Sox are hoping that this is the start to a more productive Bradley Jr. at the plate.

The Boston Red Sox were expecting consistency from Jackie Bradley Jr. this season, hoping the 4th-year outfielder was finally ready to live up to his potential.

Through the first seven weeks of the season, it’s safe to say Bradley has responded to the challenge. And then some.

Bradley hit safely for the 17th consecutive game in Boston’s 13-3 victory over the Oakland A’s Wednesday night, marking the third consecutive night the Red Sox reached double digits in runs.

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The outfielder had quite the series against the A’s, driving in 13 runs over the three game set. He did so by hitting three home runs, including a grand slam, and went 8-14 (.571) in the series.

Suffice to say, nights like this were something Bradley and the Red Sox could only dream about for the last three seasons.

Uncertainty hung over the young man in spring training. The Red Sox brought in Chris Young to compete for playing time with Bradley and Rusney Castillo. With Brock Holt eventually securing the left field spot, it appeared that Bradley would once again be stuck in a platoon situation.

Bradley was the clear cut choice as far as defense was concerned. He displayed elite speed, allowing him to cover a lot of ground from the center field position.

Hitting was a completely different story.

Though he displayed some power last season–hitting ten home runs–Bradley carried with him a .212 career batting average in 700 at-bats. Sure, he was clear of the Mendoza Line, but his numbers at the plate weren’t getting the job done.

Through the first three weeks of April, Bradley’s numbers were in line with his career averages. Young wasn’t hitting, though, and Castillo was struggling at Triple-A Pawtucket–and being talked about as trade bait— so Bradley was getting the majority of the playing time.

On April 24th, getting ready to play the Houston Astros, Bradley was hitting .222. He picked up two hits in that game and hasn’t gone a game without a hit since, raising his average to .322 in the process.

Over the last ten games alone, Bradley is hitting .432 (16-37), knocking five home runs while driving in 15.

On the season, Bradley has swatted six home runs, driven in 28, and his four triples are tops in the league. He also has a .977 OPS.

His defense hasn’t suffered in the process, as Bradley has four assists this season and made only one error in 78 chances.

Better yet, he has had a chance to contribute to Boston’s hot start from the plate this season. The Red Sox, even before scoring 40 runs in the past three games, were leading the American League in scoring (now at 5.8 runs per game) and rank in the top-five in most offensive categories.

Bradley is a major reason that is happening. He gives the Red Sox a threat at the bottom of the lineup that has been missing in recent years.

Finally getting the opportunity to play every day has no doubt had an effect on Bradley’s performance. He appears to be settling into a daily routine, not having to worry if he’ll get to play on a day-to-day basis. It probably helps he doesn’t have the threat of getting sent to the minor league at a moment’s notice hanging over his head.

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Bradley is a long way from a 56-game hitting streak and yes, it’s still only the middle of May, but the early results are definitely in Bradley’s favor. He is helping the team to play loose and have fun, two things that have also been missing the past few seasons. And when the Red Sox are having fun, good things usually happen. For the first time, Bradley is playing good enough that this time around, perhaps he can actually enjoy it. I know I will.

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