Boston Red Sox: Hunter Renfroe helping bring stability to outfield
One of the issues for the Boston Red Sox in the first-half of the 2021 season has been getting consistent production from the bottom part of the lineup. Steady play has happened in small doses, for a game or two, but for the most part spots six through nine have struggled.
In the month of June, Hunter Renfroe has helped put some of those worries to rest.
Despite seeing a six-game hitting streak snapped in Sunday’s 9-2 victory over the New York Yankees, Renfroe has put up a solid month. An 0-3 performance for Renfroe was booked as the Red Sox defeated the Yankees for the sixth time in as many tries in ’21. The goose egg was disappointing but this shouldn’t negate what Renfroe has been doing as of late.
Renfroe finally coming on for Boston Red Sox
In his first year with Boston, Renfroe took a little bit of time to get going. He finally has, picking up at least one hit in 9 of his last 11 games. He’s batting .341 over this span, with two home runs and 10 RBI. Renfroe has also scored six runs and only struck out six times.
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Renfroe is also swinging a hot stick against the Yankees this season, collecting eight hits in 18 at-bats (.444). He’s hit a couple of doubles and scored three runs while knocking in three.
Boston (47-31) has three games left in June and Renfroe is currently hitting .285 on the month. And his solid production carried over from a strong end to May, where Renfroe had four straight multi-hit games.
Renfroe’s consistent play has the outfield coming finally coming together and providing some much-needed production in latter half of the lineup, things both missing in the season’s early going.
Boston Red Sox outfield shaping up
A rousing game of mixing-and-matching players around Alex Verdugo in the outfield took place for Boston in the season’s first month or so. Players were moved around as Boston manager Alex Cora tried to find production from outfielders not named Verdugo.
Renfroe has helped solve that problem, one that was somewhat compounded by former-Red Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi having a resurgence in Kansas City (before heading to the Injured List).
Boston is still searching for consistent play from a third outfielder, but there are plenty of options to continue to cycle through. Kiké Hernández has proven to be a versatile option and would be even better if he regains his early-season success again.
And Franchy Cordero could see a return to the big leagues. Cordero recently had a four-hit day for Worcester and is hitting .381 since his demotion.
Of course, awaiting the imminent arrival of Jarren Duran is also on the minds of fans, and Duran is certainly an option that needs to be considered.
Next. Boston Red Sox: Quite frankly, Garrett Richards needs to get a grip. dark
For now, appreciating Renfroe is noteworthy. He’s displayed occasional power and is hitting the ball well. Opportunities to knock in runs have been somewhat limited, mostly because Rafael Devers is doing a fantastic job of clearing the bases in front of him. Still, it’s good to see Renfroe doing what he was brought to Boston to do. And it’s even sweeter that he’s performing well against the Yankees. The combination of those two attributes is good enough for me.