Boston Red Sox: Jackie Bradley Jr. zoning in and finding his stride
The Boston Red Sox are 7-3 over their last 10 games, thanks in part to outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. warming up at the plate.
Outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. of the Boston Red Sox had a season to remember in 2016.
He posted career-highs at the plate across the board, ultimately rewarded with his first all-star game appearance.
After a slow start in 2017 threatened to derail what he’d accomplished, Bradley is back on track.
Bradley has knocked three home runs over the past ten games, including a three-run shot in last night’s 7-5 loss to the Baltimore Orioles.
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The hit was his second of the night and temporarily brought the Red Sox back to life. And though Boston ended the night with a loss, Bradley’s production at the bottom part of the lineup has been a key to the team’s success over the past ten games.
The fifth-year outfielder is hitting .303 in this span with 11 runs batted in. Even more telling is Bradley posting a .991 OPS in his last 66 at-bats and raising his batting average from .172 to .226 in the last 19 games.
It was just over a year ago that Bradley had a 29-game hitting streak end. The streak started a career-season, one in which he finished with a .835 OPS and knocked 26 home runs.
Production like this–collectively from the 7-9 hitters–has been inconsistent for Boston this season. Part of the success for the Red Sox in 2016 was due to getting production from the top of the lineup to the bottom.
Bradley and the 7-9 hitters
It took a few weeks, but the Boston Red Sox finally started producing some offense at the top of their order.
Led by Bradley’s resurgence, it appears the bottom part of the lineup may finally be catching up.
Third basemen have been a noted issue this season, but over the past week or so the players have settled in.
Deven Marrero has been a defensive stalwart and added power to his resume in the last week. He had two home runs as part of six-home run outburst for Boston in a win over the White Sox.
Even the panda himself, Pablo Sandoval, returned from the DL with a 3-4 performance in a victory on Wednesday.
Sandy Leon and Christian Vazquez have both had their moments this season. Leon, though, has taken a step back at the plate from his outstanding 2016 and Vazquez has cooled off as of late.
Do the 7-9 hitters need to go 8-12 and drive in nine runs every night? No. Too many times in the early start of this season, though, the numbers were a 1-12 performance with no runs.
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Numbers like the latter will make it hard for the Red Sox to duplicate their winning ways of 2016. Bradley finding his stride is a sign the bottom of the lineup coming to life. If the third base and catcher position can do the same, Boston will be in first place soon enough.
A position making #WinDanceRepeat all the more enjoyable.