Boston Red Sox getting their groove back at the plate

A potent offense is again showing signs of life for the Boston Red Sox.

Maybe it was a weak opponent in the Baltimore Orioles. Or maybe it was simply a case of emerging from a slump that hadn’t been experienced for most of 2021. No matter which path you choose — or both — the Red Sox seem to have located their swagger at the plate.

Boston’s bats have awakened, especially this weekend as they scored 30 runs in a three-game sweep over the Baltimore Orioles. This after a 20-run outburst on Wednesday against Tampa Bay (we’ll try to forget the one run scored sandwiched between then and the Baltimore series).

The return of a potent lineup comes at a perfect time, too. After a disappointing 3-8 start to August, plus losing their last three games in July, the Red Sox couldn’t seem to put hitting, starting pitcher, and bullpen action altogether at the same time.

A three-game series against the New York Yankees in the Bronx starting Tuesday, followed by six home games, will hopefully see this trend of scoring continue.

Especially if players delivering in August continue to perform.

Hitters locked in for Boston Red Sox

Heading into the weekend, Boston had the perfect opportunity to score plenty of runs against the Orioles, who entered with a team ERA of nearly 6.00

The Red Sox showed up, taking care of business exactly as they needed to. And pretty much everyone who played over the weekend contributed.

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Take Saturday for example, where the one thru five hitters in the lineup combined to go 11-19. This group also scored 11 runs in the 16-2 victory and had 10 RBI.

Production has also been present from Bobby Dalbec. Before going 0-4 on Sunday, Dalbec had been hitting .407 in August. He’s been mashing the ball this month, too, with three home runs, 12 RBI, and a warm 1.389 OPS prior to Sunday’s game. For all the rightfully pointed disappointment in Dalbec this season, the last few weeks have been an encouraging sign.

Another player contributing at the plate is Kevin Plawecki. Plawecki has been playing well in limited time all season, but really stepped up as of late. In August, he’s hitting .357 with only two strikeouts.

Until Plawecki cools off, it would be nice to see him split time with Christian Vazquez. Vazquez has had a down year at the plate, even more so as of late, and seeing Plawecki play more might be beneficial to Vazquez and the Red Sox down the stretch.

Alex Verdugo has also found his swing again in August, hitting .405 in 11 games. Verdugo has six multi-hit games in this span and has scored seven runs.

Boston Red Sox: Keeping the pressure on

Boston’s struggles at the plate were evident in the first part of August. The Red Sox scored only 27 runs in the nine games prior to the 20-run outburst against the Rays.

For a team that had consistently put up runs in 2021, this was a bit alarming. Striving to get an entire lineup producing has been a goal all season and frankly, a two-week slump wasn’t too surprising for a team that’s been overachieving all season.

The top of the lineup especially we’ve known to be too good for a prolonged slump to continue. Stretching back to last Sunday, the Red Sox have scored 63 runs in the last seven games. Even better, they got back to producing with two outs, situations they’ve excelled at this season.

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It’s easy to get excited after a weekend like this, where all aspects of the game seemed to click for Boston. Yes, it was against the bottom-dwellers of the A.L. East and results can sometimes be deceiving in some cases. But for a team looking for momentum and shaking off a lackluster early-August, finding their stride at the plate makes things all the more pleasurable as the chase their way back to the top.

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