It’s (Finally) Story Time in Boston

Trevor Story has been the biggest anchor of the Red Sox lineup so far in 2022, and I don’t mean anchor in a good way. I mean anchor as in something that slows everything down until you’re at a complete stop. The prized offseason acquisition hit .091 in Spring Training and had a .196 average with a .561 OPS to begin this week. All while soaking up important at bats in the heart of the Red Sox lineup.

What a difference a week can make, huh? I said before Monday’s series opener against the Astros that the Sox had a chance to go on a run over the next month or so to try and salvage their season. They’ve won three of four since then, largely aided by Story blasting four home runs and knocking in eight (three of those bombs and seven of those RBI came in last night’s show-stopping performance). He also chipped in two steals for good measure.

Things seem to be falling into place.

Look Out

Story has always been pretty streaky, and this seems to be the start of one of his epic upswings in production. Last night’s three-homer game boosted his OPS to .730 and his OPS+ to 107. Still not what the Sox were expecting when they signed him, but certainly nothing to sneeze at. This lineup still has several slumping hitters (Kiké, Dalbec, Verdugo, etc.), so being able to rely on Story along with Bogaerts, Devers, and J.D. is huge. Those other three are having All-Star caliber seasons. Four big bats and five struggling ones isn’t ideal, but it’s sufficient if the pitching is good. Overall, it has been (107 team ERA+).

Boston’s main hurdle in the aforementioned run I thought they could go on was the mighty Astros. They got over it beautifully, taking two of three from the defending American League champs. Although the pitching staff is starting to show some chinks in the armor, reinforcements are on the way; Michael Wacha comes back tonight and Chris Sale has resumed throwing after experiencing a non-baseball related setback.

A red-hot Trevor Story is just what the doctor ordered in terms of propelling the Red Sox over the next month’s pivotal games. It could (should?) be a lot of fun to watch.

Born and raised in Miami, Florida. I used to play baseball for a living; I walked a lot and didn't hit enough. Now I write words for a living and drop absolute bombs every Sunday for my men's league team.

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