ARLINGTON -- From the surge of Wilyer Abreu to the historic strikeout slump of Rafael Devers to the impressive emergence of Kristian Campbell, there was no shortage of storylines as the Red Sox lost three out of four in their Opening Series in Texas, capped by Sunday¡¯s 3-2 defeat to the Rangers.
Here is a closer look at four plotlines from the first four games of the season.
Abreu tears into Texas
One of the players who the Red Sox had some trepidation about coming into the season was Abreu, if only because of an illness that sidelined him for weeks in Spring Training and limited him to 20 at-bats (one hit) in six Grapefruit League games.
In the latest example of why Spring Training stats don¡¯t reside on the back of anyone¡¯s baseball card, Abreu sizzled out of the gate. The left-handed hitter went 7-for-10 with five walks -- the last of which was intentional while the Red Sox tried to come back on Sunday -- two doubles, two homers and six RBIs.
Now in his second full Major League season, Abreu looks ready to take his game up a notch.
¡°Excellent,¡± said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. ¡°He made some adjustments. And like I said, we didn't talk about him in Spring Training, because he was sick. There was a plan in place in the offseason and he executed it. You can see he's covering different pitches now. He's always been patient, and I think now that he feels really good at the plate, he has balance and is able to catch up with the fastball, and there¡¯s no panic. There¡¯s no chase.¡±
It says something that Abreu earned Jacob deGrom¡¯s respect.
"He's swinging the bat well, so he was the one guy in the lineup I didn't want to let beat me,¡± deGrom said. ¡°He came up in a couple situations with runners on, and I was able to pitch around him and get the next guy out. I was just trying to be really fine right on the edges."
Per usual, Abreu let his bat and glove do the bulk of his talking.
¡°I feel good,¡± Abreu said. ¡°I feel everything is going well on a personal side. I just need to stay humble at the plate and try to do my job.¡±
The Rangers weren¡¯t sad to see Abreu leave town. In six career games at Globe Field, his slash line is .571/.654/1.381.
Raffy on the wrong side of history
It wasn¡¯t a shock to see Devers get off to a slow start as he adjusted to the early days of being a DH. But nobody could have predicted he'd have four days like this (0-for-16, 12 strikeouts).
Devers is the first player to strike out 12 or more times in his first four games of an MLB season.
The two issues are interrelated: Timing and catching up to the fastball. Devers made alterations with his foot placement that haven¡¯t paid off so far.
¡°That's something that we have noticed,¡± said Cora. ¡°Without going too deep into it, if you're not grounded, you're not going to be on time. Obviously we know Raffy needs to get on the fastball. How we¡¯re going to get there is the question.¡±
It isn¡¯t just Devers
Devers was far from alone in the slump category in Texas.
Players not named Abreu and Campbell had a batting line of .118/.192/.136 with a .328 OPS and 38 strikeouts in 110 at-bats.
¡°We just didn¡¯t pick guys up when we were on the bases, and it starts with me,¡± said third baseman Alex Bregman. ¡°I had a lot of chances in this series. Guys did a good job getting on base in front of me, and I¡¯ve got to be better and come through in those spots, and I will be. I have a lot of confidence that we're going to turn it around here rather quickly.¡±
Campbell¡¯s impressive adjustment to MLB
So much for the theory that the game might speed up on Boston¡¯s No. 2 prospect Campbell in his first series as a Major Leaguer. The right-handed hitter went 6-for-14 with two doubles, a homer and two walks. There was also a report that MLB Pipeline¡¯s No. 7 prospect could soon sign a long-term extension with Boston.
¡°Really, really good. He's going to be a special player,¡± Bregman said of Campbell. ¡°Obviously super talented. Can hit the ball from line to line. Hits the ball hard. Competitor. He wants it bad. And it's fun to watch him compete. And he's only going to get better.¡±