BALTIMORE -- There were a few things the Red Sox wanted this offseason, chief among them an impactful right-handed bat.
It took until shortly before position players reported to camp, but Boston finally got their man when Alex Bregman signed a three-year, $120 million contract.
¡°People talk about the decision of Alex playing third and [Rafael Devers] being the DH,¡± manager Alex Cora said prior to the Red Sox¡¯s 8-4 series-clinching win at Camden Yards. ¡°I always thought we needed two impactful right-handed batters, you know?¡±
Devers made his mark, finally, on Wednesday, ending his 0-fer streak at 21 at-bats and helping the Red Sox to their second win of the season.
But, until Thursday afternoon, Bregman¡¯s impact hadn¡¯t quite been felt yet offensively. He entered the series finale vs. the Orioles hitting .231, his six hits so far all singles, with zero RBIs and zero runs scored. Of course, extra-base hits and RBIs (and runs) aren¡¯t the only way to contribute in a fairly robust lineup, but they sure help.
It didn¡¯t take too long for Bregman to finally make his mark, though, ripping a two-run homer in the first inning for his first long ball in a Red Sox uniform. Sure, it could have been fitting for Bregman¡¯s first homer with the Sox to come in the home opener on Friday at Fenway Park, but Bregman couldn¡¯t wait.
So, facing Charlie Morton -- against whom Bregman has a .071 career average (1-for-14) -- Bregman went for it ¡ on the first pitch he saw in the first inning. The right-handed-hitting third baseman got a 92.1 mph sinker in the middle of the zone and, with Devers on first base after working a walk, Bregman pulled the ball a Statcast-projected 397 feet over the left-field fence, the homer leaving his bat at 103.8 mph.
¡°He's a really tough at-bat,¡± Bregman said. ¡°And obviously have so much respect for him; being his teammate, he¡¯s a great dude and a really good competitor. So I thought we did a good job, though, throwing together some good at-bats as a whole today off of a tough pitching staff, and hopefully continue to keep that going.¡±
Bregman's long ball perfectly exemplified the type of impact he can have. In the next inning, No. 6 overall prospect Kristian Campbell -- fresh off signing an eight-year contract extension the day prior -- followed suit with a two-run homer of his own, his second home run of the season. Then, in the seventh, Triston Casas crushed his first homer of the year -- another two-run knock, after Bregman doubled in the at-bat prior -- to left field.
¡°I think it's huge,¡± Bregman said. ¡°Obviously didn't go the way we wanted in Texas. I thought we saw a lot of good things going on in Texas, but there were some things that we needed to do a better job of. And to come here against a good ballclub in-division and to get two wins is big time. Super pleased with how we finished out this series, and hopefully continue that momentum into the homestand.¡±
Bregman finished the afternoon with three extra-base hits and three RBIs, capping his performance with an RBI double in the top of the ninth.
¡°[Bregman¡¯s homer] was huge,¡± Casas said. ¡°I think it helped us settle in, for sure. But it also gave us a sense of urgency to want to keep scoring runs. ¡ It was a good start to the game for sure. And you know, he just kept tacking on with doubles. So yeah, happy to have him on my team.¡±
It was the second straight game in which the club tallied at least 10 hits -- the kind of offensive breakout that the Red Sox needed before heading back to Boston. And it all started with that Bregman home run.
¡°He's gonna be OK,¡± Cora said of Bregman. ¡°He's a good hitter. He's very smart, and he cares about his teammates. He does, he really does. And just to see him perform is super cool. That ball hit to right-center, that's a good sign, to be honest with you -- well, hopefully tomorrow he doesn't hit it that way. He knows where to go.¡±