Trevor Story is utterly ridiculous right now -- but he's not alone
BOSTON -- There are hot streaks. There are blazing infernos. And then there's what Trevor Story is doing right now for the Boston Red Sox.
The second baseman continued an absolutely unbelievable stretch of hitting on Thursday night, helping the Red Sox to a 16-7 victory that secured the team its fourth consecutive series win.
Story was 2-for-4 with a walk in the game, hitting yet another home run and driving in four more runs.
That's been a common theme lately, as Story has been on a truly historic run at the plate.
After Thursday's performance, Story now has hit eight home runs and driven in 22 runs while posting a 1.387 OPS over his last 10 games, during which the Red Sox have gone 8-2. Tightening that window to his last seven games, Story has hit seven home runs with 21 RBIs. As far as Baseball Reference data can tell, nobody in Red Sox history has ever recorded 21 RBIs in a seven-game stretch, as noted by Alex Speier on Twitter:
Speier added that the most RBIs ever recorded in a seven-game span is 23. With 32 RBIs in the month of May, Story has a chance to reach or break Ted Williams' Red Sox record of 41 for most RBIs in the month of May. The Red Sox have six games remaining in the month.
"Times like this are rare," Story said, per RedSox.com. "A great feeling. I'm trying to just live in the moment and have good at-bats when I can."
Story's surge coming at any time would be remarkable on its own. That it's come after his abysmal start to the season -- he was hitting .194 with a .545 OPS and zero home runs in his first 24 games -- makes it all the more incredible.
Yet while Story may be the headliner, he's far from alone in terms of red-hot Red Sox hitters.
J.D. Martinez has rather quietly been on a torrid tear for quite some time, a stretch which he extended with a 3-for-5 night on Thursday. Martinez is now hitting an absurd .437 over his last 25 games, with 12 doubles, four homers, 15 RBIs, eight walks and a 1.143 OPS. It's been even more ridiculous lately, with Martinez hitting .539 with a 1.359 OPS over his last 13 games, recording 10 multi-hit games in that span.
Martinez is now hitting .380 this season, the best average in all of baseball by a wide margin. Tim Anderson ranks second at .363.
Rafael Devers has been on a special tear of his own, as his two-hit night on Thursday left him with a .411 batting average and 1.271 OPS over his last 17 games.
Alex Verdugo may be next in line to join the party, as he turned in a 4-for-6 night against the White Sox on Thursday. He was 6-for-15 in the three-game series with three doubles and five RBIs.
The offensive turnaround has been drastic for the Red Sox, who averaged 3.5 runs per game in April but have thus far averaged six runs per game in May. As a result, they now rank third in the American League in runs scored, behind only the Yankees (who have played one more game than Boston) and Angels (who have played two more games than Boston). The Red Sox as a team now lead the American League with a .255 batting average, while ranking third with a .721 OPS.
That's very good on its own. But considering where they were at the end of April, it's certainly a significant accomplishment in a short period of time. And it's the type of run that can turn a whole season around.
