BALTIMORE -- Finally, Rafael Devers can breathe a sigh of relief -- though he¡¯ll be the first to tell anyone who asks, he was never holding his breath.
To the joy of the Boston faithful in attendance at Camden Yards on Wednesday night, Devers¡¯ 0-fer streak is no more. Neither is the Red Sox¡¯s losing streak, after Boston cruised to a 3-0 win over Baltimore behind a dominant eight scoreless from the newly extended Garrett Crochet.
After starting the season 0-for-21, Devers finally has his first hit of 2025. It comes after a historically rough start -- those 15 K¡¯s in his first five games set a record, after all.
Devers received a standing ovation as he stood at second base, dusting himself off. He had just laced that first hit -- an RBI double -- into right field to give the Red Sox a 3-0 lead in the fifth inning. He then followed it up with a single in the eighth.
¡°I enjoy it a lot,¡± Devers said via interpreter Carlos Villoria-Ben¨ªtez. ¡°It makes me happy, seeing that reaction, because that makes me see that they're paying attention to my at-bat and they're supporting me. And it makes me feel very, very happy about that.¡±
¡°We all needed that one,¡± manager Alex Cora said. ¡°The at-bats are getting better. You know, he walked twice the other day. The foul ball he hit, that one caught my attention. Today he put some good swings on it, got a breaking ball in the zone, put a good swing ...
"And then the line drive we've been looking for for five days, right? That went the other way, stayed with the lefty, hit it hard that way, did an outstanding job.¡±
It was just as the baseball gods drew it up. Devers, who is 6-for-16 in his career against Orioles starter Zach Eflin, made contact in his first two at-bats, popping up into foul territory in the first inning and then grounding out to first base in the third.
Then, the fifth inning. Devers stepped to the plate with two outs and Ceddanne Rafaela on first. Devers took the first three pitches he saw -- a ball, a called strike and another ball, all located up and away -- before getting a pitch he could do damage with. So, he let ¡®er rip.
Devers pulled the 78.6 mph curveball Eflin left down and middle into right field at 109.5 mph off his bat. As Rafaela sped home, Devers raced to first base, then, seeing Tyler O¡¯Neill slow to retrieve the ball in right field, made his way to second, sliding in safely. The relief -- though perhaps joy is a better word, as he denies he was ever worried -- was as evident on his face as it was among the fans who showered him with their applause.
¡°It was more for other people than for me,¡± Devers said. ¡°I knew it was gonna come, but I also received a lot of texts from people worried about me, and I was OK. So it's more for other people than for me.¡±
Of course, Devers¡¯ hits and the enjoyment of the entire squad may have been for naught without Crochet¡¯s performance. It was the first time in the ace¡¯s professional career -- including his year-plus of being a starter -- pitching into the eighth inning. He allowed just four hits and one walk while striking out eight. And though he finished the seventh with 92 pitches, there was never any doubt that he would go back out for the eighth, for which he needed just 10 more pitches to complete.
¡°I was just in control leading up to that point,¡± Crochet said. ¡°Yeah, my first start in college, I went eight, and I haven't sniffed it since. It's funny. But yeah, I felt really good. ¡
¡°Overall, I felt like just pouring pitches in the strike zone. I know that I've got good stuff -- not in an arrogant way, just, I've got a lot of trust in it. So for me, it was just, let¡¯s pour some pitches in the zone, trying to eliminate the walks as much as we can. Obviously, the four-pitch [walk] hurt, but it didn't come back to bite me. So I'm not gonna lose sleep over it.¡±
Though it¡¯s been a tough start to the season for the Red Sox as a whole, their confidence has never wavered. They knew hits would come for Devers, and for the rest of the squad, just as they knew their second win of the season was just around the corner. Now, the focus turns to the rest of the season and the hits -- and wins -- yet to come, with Nos. 1 and 2 already out of the way.