Red Sox Notes: Rafael Devers Continues To Have Success At The Plate

It’s pretty incredible to think about what Rafael Devers is doing when you consider his age.

At 22-years-old, most premier prospects in baseball are in Double- or Triple-A. Devers not only is in the big leagues, but he’s thriving.

Devers turned in his second straight three-hit game Saturday as the Boston Red Sox beat the Seattle Mariners 9-5 at Fenway Park. The third baseman’s batting average now sits at an impressive .326 with an .846 OPS.

Indeed, Devers has proven to be a wild ride at third base, and though he makes the occasional nice play, he’s also made preventable gaffes that have led to losses. But the fact that he’s hitting at a high level makes the defensive missteps a bit more forgivable.

Sox manager Alex Cora has expressed faith that Devers will become a more consistent defender, and if that’s the case, then the Red Sox really will have a gem in the youngster. But in the meantime, he’s more than proving his worth at the plate.

Here are some other notes from Saturday’s Mariners-Red Sox game:

— Things got off to a pretty bad start for Rick Porcello, but he rebounded nicely.

The Mariners got four runs off the right-handed starter in the first inning, but the ensuing 5 2/3 innings went much more smoothly. After the opening stanza, Porcello faced 19 batters and didn’t allow a hit or run, issuing just one walk.

Porcello’s record now sits at 3-3, and over the last five starts he’s looked pretty sharp. In that stretch, he’s 3-0 with a 3.06 ERA and 30-6 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 32 1/3 innings.

— Sandy Leon put an exclamation point on the Red Sox’s eight-run third inning, blasting a three-run homer into the Green Monster.

Leon has proven over the last few years that he’s among the best defensive catchers in the big leagues, and currently he’s also mostly holding up on his end of the bargain at the dish. He’s hitting .222 this season, a modest number, indeed, but it’s not far below the league average of .237, per FanGraphs.

Leon is 4-for-10 over his last 10 at-bats, posting a homer, three RBIs, one run scored and two walks.

— With Saturday’s victory, the Sox have recorded their first four-game win streak of season. They also kept their record above .500, climbing to 21-19.

— Over their last 12 games the Red Sox are 10-2, scoring 7.4 runs per contest. They’re hitting .284 in that stretch, with their starters posting an ERA of 2.97 and the bullpen turning in a 2.53 ERA.