Backed by five home runs and six strong innings from James Paxton, the Red Sox picked up a 8-6 victory over the New York Mets.
Nerve wracking ninth inning aside, where Boston surrendered three runs thanks to hard hits and a couple of balks, it was a stellar win. In improving to 52-47, the Red Sox also climbed back to within two games of a Wildcard spot in the American League.
Four of the home runs belonged to a trio of players simply raking in July. And a fourth player continued to set the table and contribute in multiple ways.
Triston Casas
Rookie first baseman Triston Casas isn't on the most torrid stretch of these four players but he was the top star in Saturday night's victory.
Casas made Mets pitcher Max Scherzer pay twice for trying to sneak pitches by him, delivering two monster home runs. A 2-3 game improved Casas' batting average to .244 on the season and is 4-6 this series against the Mets.
The two home runs gave Casas five in July and he's hitting .333 (with an OPS in July of .992 prior to today's games).
Casas has been on an upward trajectory, getting better with each month. He's shown a good eye at the plate, is improving defensively, and providing stability in what is usually the lower third of the Boston order.
Expectations were high for Casas entering the 2023 season and, for the most part, he's right where I expected him to be. Part of the struggle in the early going was indecisiveness. Toss in hard contact that were finding outs, the stats were going to be low.
But, Casas has cemented a spot in the lineup, meaning finding ways different ways to get an equally scorching player in the lineup every day.
Justin Turner
Justin Turner was expected to provide versatility for the Red Sox in '23. Much of that plan involved sharing time with Casas and spelling Rafael Devers at third base, plus some DH. In playing no less than three positions, plus Designated Hitter, Turner has done exactly as expected.
A 15-game hitting streak ended in the early game on Saturday, a conclusion of Friday's suspended affair. Shaking off an 0-4 performance and a couple of hard early outs in the night game, Turner found the seats in the seventh inning.
Turner's two-run shot provided a nail in the coffin against the Mets. It was his fourth home run in July and brought his RBI total in the month to 21.
More impressive is the six multi-hit games and .355 batting average.
Turner is providing veteran leadership for this Red Sox club. A hot July at the plate, however, is rivaled by two teammates hitting for an even better average.
Jarren Duran
After beginning the season with a bang, Duran cooled off slightly at the end of May and into June. But the month of July has been a different story.
Duran hit a leadoff home run on Saturday night, part of a 1-3 night that raised his season average to .315. It's part of a month where Duran has collected 20 hits and is hitting .425 with eight doubles and 15 runs scored.
After a dismal 2022, Duran is setting the tone in '23 and earned the right to be playing every day. It's forced manager Alex Cora to make some tough decisions in who sit each game, which is a good problem to have.
Duran's month has also included six multi-hit games, with a superb 5-5 night in the books. Impressive as Duran has been, a fellow outfielder is taking the multi-hit game to different levels.
Masataka Yoshida
Rookie Masataka Yoshida has been the king of the multi-hit game for the Boston Red Sox through the season's first 99 games.
Yoshida added to his total on Saturday night, going 3-4 in collecting his 38th multi-hit game of the season. It was his 10th such occurrence in July as he upped his average to .407 on the month and .319 on the season.
From the last game in June until July 14, Yoshida picked up at least two hits in eight straight games. He's been a solid hitter in using the entire field to his advantage, including power. Yoshida has 11 home runs this season, with two in July.
Yoshida picked up an RBI in Saturday night's game, giving him 11 in the month and 51 overall. This includes his second six-RBI game of the season, last week against the Chicago Cubs.
He's also added 22 doubles and 3 triples.
These four players have been fun to watch this season, especially in the last month. If they keep producing, and the Red Sox keep winning, buying at the trade deadline will be a no-brainer. And then, the real fun begins.
photo credit: rawpixel
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