After a tough 7-4 Game Two loss Saturday night, the Boston Red Sox bounced back with a 7-2 Game Three win over the Texas Rangers to take the series.
While unable to pick up the win because of not meeting the inning quota, starting pitcher Nick Pivetta threw a solid 4.2 innings of work, allowing just two early runs on solo HRs and striking out five.
Six out of the seven runs put up by the Boston offense came by way of the long ball, with 2B David Hamilton and CF Jarren Duran hitting one a piece and RF Wilyer Abreu hitting a pair.
What are the main takeaways from Boston's game three win over Texas?
Wilyer Abreu is a firm AL ROY candidate
An 0-for-2 Game Two performance is just about the only thing that went wrong for Abreu this series, picking up three hits and a HR Friday night and adding another two HRs in the series finale.
Abreu's strong series performance raised his batting average to .275 and his OPS to an impressive .856. His adjustments throughout the 2024 season have been extremely noticeable in his gradual uptick in production. He has elevated himself into a powerful anchor for one of the most dangerous offensive outfields in MLB.
MLB socials recently ranked him fourth on the American League Rookie of the Year ladder, but if his play continues to trend in its current direction he could quickly see himself rise to the top of that list.
The Jarren Duran power surge is very real
Duran mashed his 14th HR of the 2024 season in his 110th game of the year, officially passing his total of 13 HRs spanning 193 games across the previous three seasons.
His speed and gap-to-gap ability have never been placed into question, and the extremely exciting power increase he has enjoyed recently has truly propelled him into becoming one of the most complete players in MLB.
Reaching base in four of his five at-bats with three hits and a walk, Duran's presence at the top of the Red Sox lineup continues to be a major catalyst in the team's continued offensive success.
Bullpen continues to trend upwards
After Pivetta was pulled before he could complete five innings, the bullpen was able to protect Boston's lead and finished the series allowing just two earned runs in 11 innings pitched.
Cam Booser picked up the win in a 1 1/3 innings hitless outing, and Zack Kelly, Brennan Bernardino, and Josh Winckowski each fired a scoreless inning to carry the team to a series win.
The additions made at the trade deadline by President of Baseball Operations Craig Breslow expanded the number of options manager Alex Cora had on a game-by-game basis. After a dreadful majority of July, the bullpen seems to be re-finding their early season form.
The Red Sox are now 59-51 on the season.
Royals Series Game 1
An important Kansas City Royals series opener is scheduled for Monday, August 4th at 8:10 PM EST at Kauffman Stadium, televised on NESN.
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