Scorching-Hot Rafael Devers Joins Ted Williams in Elite Company

Rafael Devers is the first player to reach the 100-RBI plateau in 2019. 

The 22-year-old wrapped up his otherworldly week with a terrific Sunday, going 4-for-5 with a homer, two doubles and four RBIs in the Boston Red Sox’s 13-7 thumping of the visiting Baltimore Orioles.

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— Red Sox Stats (@redsoxstats) August 18, 2019

Completing a three-game sweep of the lowly Orioles, the Red Sox won their fifth consecutive contest. They still trail the Tampa Bay Rays by 6.5 games for the second AL Wild Card spot, but the monster production of Devers has made the Red Sox a must-watch.

Devers mashed his 27th homer of the season in Boston's win over Baltimore. (Michael Dwyer/AP)

Devers is the first player to register 100-plus runs and RBIs in a season before age 23 since future Hall of Famer Miguel Cabrera did so in 2005. The only other Red Sox player in franchise history to accomplish this feat was the legendary Ted Williams.

“Yeah, I mean, obviously it feels good to be a part of that group,” Devers said after Sunday’s win. “But overall I’m just trying to help the team as much as I can whether it’s baserunning, playing defense, that’s what I’m more focused on is just trying to contribute as much as I can to help the team win ballgames.”

During Devers’ eight-game hitting streak, he is 20-for-37 with eight doubles, four homers and 14 RBIs with a 1.656 OPS.

Devers leads MLB in hits (167), extra-base hits (76), RBIs (101) and total bases (300). Ty Cobb is the only other player in history to lead the league in these categories in his age-22 season, dating back to 1909.

Batting .332—the third-best in MLB—Devers has a shot at winning the American League MVP. Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout is currently the favorite to nab the award. Trout leads the AL in homers (41) and his MLB-best WAR (8.2) is far higher than Devers’ mark of 5.2.

New York Yankees second baseman DJ LeMahieu, who leads MLB in batting (.339) and ranks third in hits (156), is another strong candidate to win MVP. He has the same WAR as Devers and has been unquestionably the best player on the Yankees, who hold the top record (83-43) in baseball.

Kris Bryant's Walk-Off Homer Ends Cubs' Bleeding

                The Chicago Cubs could ill-afford another deflating defeat. After getting swept by the Philadelphia Phillies, the worst team in baseball, over the weekend at Wrigley Field—with one loss resulting from a blown save, another in a no-hit effort by Cole Hamels and the finale in a blowout—the Cubs needed a win against the lowly Colorado Rockies.

            The visiting Rockies, who sit in last-place in the NL West, jumped out to a 4-0 advantage after scoring twice in the third and fourth innings off Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks. Carlos Gonzalez smacked a two-run home run in the third while DJ LeMahieu plated two with a single in the fourth.

            The Cubs stormed back with seven consecutive runs, six of which coming in the bottom half of the fourth. Kris Bryant and Jorge Soler had RBI singles and Chris Denorfia added a run-scoring grounder in the inning. Starlin Castro then singled to left to drive in two to put the Cubs in front, 5-4, before rookie second baseman Addison Russell laced a double to drive in Castro, ending the evening for Rockies starter Jorge De La Rosa.

            Adding a run in the sixth thanks to an error by the Rockies’ All-Star Nolan Arenado at third base, Chicago had a seemingly safe three run lead. But the bullpen imploded again, as Jason Motte surrendered three runs (two inherited runs) in the top of the ninth without recording an out. Newly-acquired right-hander Rafael Soriano gave up a two-run homer to Gonzalez that plated LeMahieu (an inherited run from Motte) that put the Rockies on top, 8-7.

            Staring a fourth consecutive loss in the eyes, All-Star and rookie sensation Bryant came to bat with two outs against Rockies closer Jonathan Axford with the tying run (Dexter Fowler) on first base. Bryant waited for his pitch and promptly clubbed a game-winning two-run blast on a cut fastball to give the Cubs a dramatic 9-8 victory on Monday night.

The Cubs await Kris Bryant at the plate after the rookie hit his first career walk-off home run. (Jonathan Daniels/ Getty Images)

            Needing a victory, Bryant delivered the Cubs’ MLB-leading 10^th walk-off hit of the season. The Cubs were on the verge of beginning a 10-game stretch at Wrigley against the NL’s three last-place teams (the Milwaukee Brewers are next on the homestand) with four losses in a row before Bryant’s heroics saved the night.

            “It just wakes us up a little bit,” Bryant said. “I think we were kind of nonchalant the last couple games – myself included.”

            The near-loss restores questions about the Cubs’ back end of their bullpen. Motte failed to retire any of the three batters he faced—including a homer to power-deprived shortstop Daniel Descalso—who has recorded only three home runs on the season).

            Motte has yielded 13 hits in his past 6 1/3 innings. Soriano, meanwhile, has allowed game-winning home runs in each of his past two outings. The solution to the closing issues may lie in the hands of Hector Rondon, who has given up just one run over his past 17.1 innings pitched.

            The Cubs need to address these issues if they hope to stay afloat in the race for the second wild card in the National League. They trail the defending-champion San Francisco Giants by 2.5 games as the season is roughly at the 100-game mark for MLB clubs.

            For at least a night, Bryant silenced the attention directed toward the Cubs' stumbling bullpen—with the spotlight  instead focused on his game-winning homer, arguably the most important hit of the season for Chicago. The questions will come back Tuesday, particularly those directed at Motte’s ineffective fastball, Soriano giving up yet another late-inning homer and why Rondon hasn’t been handed the closing duties back to him. 

           One swing of the bat by the 23-year-old Bryant, however, bought the Cubs a day of celebration as the team pushed through its roughest patch of the season.