Rafael Devers Has Visions Of Being An All-Star Game Starter
BOSTON (CBS) -- Yet another three-game sweep of the New York Yankees by the Boston Red Sox seemed pretty evident early Sunday afternoon. Rafael Devers made sure of that.
After Enrique Hernandez led off the bottom of the first with a solo homer, Devers added to Boston's lead by absolutely destroying a Gerrit Cole 100 mph fastball. The Sox third baseman launched an absolute no-doubter of a three-run homer, sending the fastball 451 feet to right field.
The blast got out in a hurry too, leaving Devers' bat at 113.7 mph.
It was the perfect swing from Devers and the perfect outcome for Boston, as it put the Sox up 4-0 early in the game. Boston completed the three-game sweep with a 9-2 rout, improving to a perfect 6-0 against the Yankees this season.
Asked if he could hit the ball any better than he did on his first-inning rocket launch, Devers casually said that he could with a giant grin on his face. That's a scary thought.
"This kid, he was into this series," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of Devers. "I saw him talking to veterans about situations, about at-bats, and he keeps growing. Like I said, this is his best first half of the season professionally, and we all know what he does in the second one, so it should be fun watching him."
Devers finished Sunday afternoon 3-for-4 at the dish with four RBIs. His homer was his 19th of the season, which leads all Major League third basemen. Devers also leads everyone who plays the hot corner with 64 RBIs, 50 runs scored and 23 doubles.
The 24-year-old was the top vote-getter at third in the first round of All-Star voting, with voting on the second-round starting Monday and running through Thursday. It's a certainty that Devers will be named to his first All-Star squad on Thursday night, and there's a really good chance that he'll be announced as the American League's starting third baseman.
"It would feel great," Devers said of potentially receiving that honor. "That is something everyone wants to be one day. It would be very special if I was able to be the starting third baseman for that game."
