KANSAS CITY -- The debate can rage on regarding whether Rafael Devers will or won’t eventually play first base for the Red Sox this season. But there are no questions asked when Devers is standing in the batter’s box.
One day after meeting with principal owner John Henry and manager Alex Cora about the first base issue that club officials had wanted to explore, Devers was in his customary designated hitter spot on Saturday and proceeded to go 4-for-4 with a walk and three runs batted in as the Red Sox took down the Royals, 10-1, at Kauffman Stadium.
It was the seventh multi-hit effort for Devers in his last 13 games, his second four-hit game of the season and his eighth team reaching safely five times in a game in his career. He went 3-for-3 with a double against Royals reigning All-Star left-hander Cole Ragans and was the clear catalyst in staking Boston to a 4-1 lead through five innings before Trevor Story’s three-run homer provided a significant cushion in the seventh.
Prior to the game, Cora had said Devers wasn’t taking any grounders at first, but added that the Red Sox will continue to explore ways to improve themselves at first base for the long haul. Nick Sogard was called up on Saturday and in the lineup at first base, going 1-for-4 with a walk.
The thought process for the Red Sox brass revolves around finding a way to get another impact bat in the lineup if Devers were to play first.
For now, it’s still Devers delivering as the designated hitter.
“He knows how to cancel the noise,” Cora said of Devers. “The last few days have been a lot. But at the end of the day, like he says, ‘Play baseball.’ At 7:05, 6:10 or whenever the game is, he’s ready to go.”
Devers declined interviews after the game. His offensive efforts lifted his batting average to .273.
“I hated it when people said he needs to play third base for him to hit,” Cora said. “He’s a unique hitter. He has made some adjustments over the last two weeks. The leg kick is not as high. The timing is on point. And facing a lot of lefties has helped him stay on pitches. We’re very happy with the production.”
The offense on Saturday gave Red Sox starter Garrett Crochet a margin for error after a three-run uprising in the fifth enabled Boston to snap a 1-1 deadlock.
The Red Sox needed length from Crochet after using seven relievers on Friday in a 12-inning loss to the Royals. Crochet responded by allowing just one run through seven innings and lowered his earned run average to 1.93.
“Just trying to be the best version of myself,” Crochet said. “You can’t put too much pressure on yourself [to go deep into a game], but it’s cool to help out. That’s my job.”
Crochet credited catcher Carlos Narváez for leading him through his seven innings. Meanwhile, Narváez was productive at the plate as well. Narváez had a career-high three hits, including a homer, two singles and a walk.
It was that Narváez base on balls with one out in the fifth that Cora pointed to as a pivotal moment in the game. After Narváez got things started with that free pass, the Boston offense followed with four consecutive hits to gain separation against Ragans.
“Forget the [Narváez] homer and two singles,” Cora said. “That walk changed the game.”
With Crochet getting through seven innings, the Red Sox's bullpen will be in much better shape Sunday as Boston tries to take two of three in the weekend series.
“It gave us a chance to rest some guys,” Cora said. “We needed six or seven [innings from Crochet], and he did it.”