ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Boston Rex Sox star Rafael Devers set a team record when he homered for the sixth consecutive game in Monday night's 5-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.
Devers had shared the mark of five with Jimmie Foxx (1940), Ted Williams (1957), Dick Stuart (1963), George Scott (1977), Jose Canseco (1985) and Bobby Dalbec (2020).
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“He’s a freak,” Red Sox winning pitcher Tanner Houck said. ”A guy that can hit any pitch at any time, and to see what he’s done, I mean, he’s just an incredible player."
He is the first major leaguer to do it since the Los Angeles Angels' Mike Trout had a seven-game streak from Sept. 4-12, 2022.
I’m very proud to be in that conversation with him," Devers said through a translator. “Obviously we know the type of superstar that he is. He's a future Hall of Famer and superstar, and to be in the same level with him is very nice.”
The Chicago Cubs' Michael Busch had a five-game home-run streak earlier this season.
Tampa Bay starter Taj Bradley struck out eight of his first nine batters entering the fourth, Devers was only the Boston batter to put the ball in play over the stretch, hitting a comeback groundout that Bradley deflected to second baseman Brandon Lowe.
After Jarren Duran had a leadoff triple in the fourth and scored on Wilyer Abreu's double, Devers connected on a opposite-field homer to left.
“At the moment I wasn’t thinking about that.” Devers said of the record. “It was most about hitting the ball well in the air with men in scoring position. For me to be able to help the team and get ahead with two runs at that point it was a great moment. But yes of course when I got to the dugout and and I saw my teammates, it was a special moment, for sure.”
The homer was Devers' 10th of the season and extended his hitting streak to 10 games.
Both Boston manager Alex Cora and Devers agree that the slugger is not locked in yet at the plate.
“But the accomplishment is amazing,” Cora said. “Six days in a row hitting homers — shoot, I can't recall how many days in a row I got hits when I played.”
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB