With Tuesday ‘s 10-4 win over the Twins, the Red Sox have now averaged eight runs per game in their last seven. It’s a positive turnaround after Boston had struggled over their previous ten games, averaging just 2.5 runs/game.
Tuesday’s outcome marked the third straight game in which Boston has scored at least nine runs against Minnesota, a streak dating back to April 20. It’s the first such streak for the Sox against the Twins since July 3-5, 2000. The only Major League team with more such games are the Mariners, who put together a four game streak with 9+ runs against Minnesota in 1998-99.
It’s the second time the Red Sox have scored nine or more runs against an opponent this season. Boston opened the 2023 campaign with an offensive burst, scoring 9+ runs in three games against Baltimore.
The last opponent the Red Sox scored 9+ runs against in four consecutive games of a single season was the Athletics. In 2016, Boston went 5-1 against Oakland with at least 11 runs scored in five of the six games of the season series.
2-out strength
Scoring with two outs isn’t just good baseball, it’s exciting baseball. On Tuesday, Christian Arroyo and Connor Wong delivered two-out RBI from the bottom of the Sox order. That brought the Red Sox tally to 30 two-out RBI over their last five games. In all, their 150 two-out RBI is fourth-most in baseball after the Rangers (177), Dodgers (162), and Rays (162).
Arroyo, a late add to the line up when Pablo Reyes was scratched for abdominal tightness, wound up with a 5-for-5 night, including a home run and a double. It was his first career five-hit game and also set a career-high with four RBI. Arroyo became the fourth Sox batter to come a triple-short of a cycle this season, joining Rafael Devers, Connor Wong, and Jarren Duran.
Arroyo’s 5-for-5 night marked the first time a Red Sox batter had 5+ hits and a hit in every at-bat of a game since Rafael Devers went 6-for-6 on August 13, 2019 at Cleveland.
Bottom of the order contributions continue to be solid for the Red Sox this season. Boston batters seven through nine have the third-most most hits in the Major League, the fifth-best batting average and a .725 OPS that ranks seventh of the 30 MLB teams.