The Big Story – Devers Back in Town: Well, it couldn’t have gone much better when the recalcitrant one returned to Fenway for the first time since he was shipped west last June.
It came amid a deserved hail of boos as Raffy Devers went 1-10 with a homer while the Sox were sweeping his SF Giants. With that now over, it seems a good time to review the results of that trade.
You may recall a pouting Devers was sent packing after petulantly refusing to play first base here. SF was 41-31 that day. They then went 69-93 in his first 162 games with them and 91-126 overall, while the one-game-under-.500 Red Sox rallied to go 52-37 the rest of the way in 2025 and 122-85 overall since they dumped him.
Not to mention that in flipping the key guy they got in the deal, Kyle Harrison, to Milwaukee, the Sox not only got their third baseman Caleb Durbin, but also spark plugs to the turnaround Nick Sogard and Andruw Monasterio. Plus the payroll flexibility gained from the $250 million saved, they were able to take on the big contracts of now 16-game-winner Sonny Gray and homer/RBI leader Willson Contreras.
Which makes it a gigantic win for John Henry and company.
Sports 101: With seven more starts left after reaching his 16 career high in wins Friday, Gray actually can do a rarity for these days: win 20 games. Name the last five Red Sox pitchers to do that in a season.
News Item – Red Sox Update – Who’s Hot:
They started the week 71-59, six behind TB in the AL East and 6.5 up in the wild card race. They need to go 19-13 in their final 32 games to reach 90 wins.
• Mickey Gasper – The Merrimack native came back up from AAA ablazing. He’s gone six for 17 with two doubles, three homers and nine RBI since.
• Erik Miller – In his first eight appearances since coming from SF, he allowed no earned runs while striking out a whopping 14 in 8.1 innings
• Brayan Bello: That demotion to AAA worked wonders. In seven appearances since his July 12 return, he’s 3-0 with a save while giving up just three runs in 27.1 innings for a 0.99 ERA.
News Item – Pats Update – Pats Down Eagles 24-21:
• Kyle Williams – Say what you will about the 2025 third-round pick, who some say is about to be cut. But after scoring on a 69-yard bomb Saturday, it’s interesting that in the few catches he had in 2025 (10) and two on Saturday, four have resulted in TD’s with three coming from 72, 69 and 33 yards out, while the yards per catch average on those 12 is 23.6. For context: The NFL’s YPC record is held by 1960s NY Giants receiver Homer Jones at 22.3.
• The Second O and D Lines – They were awful.
• Christian Gonzalez – Is the contract extension mess a real issue or being blown out of proportion by breathless media yacking?
The Numbers:
4 – times Wilyer Abreu struck out in Saturday’s first four at-bats before knocking in the winning run in their 3-2 walkoff win over SF.
8 – not quite 1968’s Year of the Pitcher, but the paltry number of .300 hitters in both leagues. For context, 30 did it in 1962.
22 – most runs ever scored while shutting out an opponent, as Milwaukee did in their 22-0 win over Seattle.
… Of the Week Award
Dumbest WNBA Related Comment – Shaq: Whose solution to making the league more exciting is to lower the baskets so everyone can dunk.
Sports 101 Answer: The last Boston 20-game winner was Rick Porcello when he won the 2016 Cy Young Award for his stellar 22-4 season. Before that, Josh Beckett (2007), Curt Schilling (2004), Pedro Martinez and Derek Lowe (2002).
Final Thought – Thumbs Down – John Rich: While killing Little League Baseball’s 85-pitch-count rule, the Bar Stool Sports writer had comments after Alabama’s Kinley Rasmus got yanked after six scoreless innings for reaching the PC limit. Washington State then scored twice in the seventh to win 2-0. Rich wrote, “Feel bad for this girl. Pitches a 6 inning shutout. Breaks Mo’ne Davis’ strikeout record. Then loses in the 7th when they’re forced to bring in another pitcher. Team couldn’t get her a single run. Brutal.” Well John, we all do. Sorta. But it’s not like that’s never happened before.
First, he’s diminishing Washington’s pitching, which also pitched a shutout, didn’t they?
Second, since the beginning of time pitchers who’ve pitched great have gotten beaten by pitchers who pitched not quite as well but good enough to win.
Third, have you heard of Harvey Haddix in 1959? Bill Bevens, Game 4, 1947 World Series? Jack Sanford, Game 7, 1962 World Series? and the doozy of “he got no hit support” losses, Warren Spahn on July 2, 1963. Look them up. All pitched great in historic games and lost.
Email Dave Long at dlong@hippopress.com.