Red Sox Stat of the Day: May 2021

MLB.com is keeping track of a Stat of the Day for the Red Sox this season, highlighting a unique, interesting or fun nugget from each game.

• Red Sox Stat of the Day, April 2021

May 31: Astros 11, Red Sox 2 -- Verdugo's dozen
Though it was a tough day for the Red Sox offensively, Alex Verdugo took one of the best swings for the visitors, launching an RBI double off the wall to left. For Verdugo, it was the continuation of a strong stretch he has had over the last 12 games, hitting .342 (13-for-38) with three homers and eight RBIs. Verdugo has raised his batting average 14 points during that stretch, up to .287 for the season.

May 29: Red Sox 3, Marlins 1 -- Renfroe keeps raking
Hunter Renfroe continues to swing a hot bat. In the win, he clubbed three hits, including an RBI single that gave the Red Sox an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth. It was the third straight multihit game for Renfroe, during which he's 7-for-10 with four doubles and a homer. Renfroe started May with a .167 average and takes a .250 mark into the final two days of the month.

May 28: Red Sox 5, Marlins 2 -- Verdugo's homers often mean something
Alex Verdugo again hit a homer when it mattered most, snapping a 2-2 tie and leading the Red Sox to a victory at a rain-soaked Fenway Park. Of Verdugo's 27 career homers, 12 have either tied the game or put his team ahead. That includes four of his seven this season. In his last 10 games, Verdugo is batting .387 with four extra base-hits and seven RBIs.

May 26: Red Sox 9, Braves 5 -- Homer-happy Sox
When Rafael Devers followed an early Hunter Renfroe solo homer with a two-run shot to tie the game in the fourth inning, it was a pretty good indicator that the Red Sox were going to ultimately win the game. In the win, the Sox improved to 17-2 in games that they've hit two homers or more. The Sox have hit two or more homers in 10 of their last 12 games, roping 23 out of the ballpark over that span.

May 25: Braves 3, Red Sox 1 -- Devers in select company
The only Red Sox player with an RBI in Tuesday's game was from Rafael Devers, when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the first inning. For Devers, the RBI was significant for the company it put him in. In 46 games this season, Devers has 13 homers and 40 RBIs. The only other Red Sox player -- age 24 or younger -- with 13 or more homers and 40 or more RBIs in his first 50 games of a season was Ted Williams, who did so in 1941 (22 years, 13 HR, 44 RBIs) and '42 (23 years, 15 HR, 57 RBIs).

May 23: Phillies 6, Red Sox 2 -- Devers' extra-base tear
Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers is in one of those grooves when just about every time he gets a hit, it goes for extra bases. Devers launched his 13th homer of the season on Sunday. Ronald Acuña Jr. (15), Adolís Garcia (14) and Shohei Ohtani (14) are the only players in the Majors with more. Of the last 16 hits Devers has compiled, 12 have been for extra bases.

May 22 -- Red Sox 4, Phillies 3 -- Santana's powerful arrival
One night after Danny Santana became the fourth Red Sox player in history to homer while batting leadoff in his debut with the team, he joined another select club on Saturday. Santana went deep again against the Phillies, making him the fifth player in franchise history to homer in his first two games with the team. The others on the list are Darnell McDonald (2010), Sam Horn (1987), Lee Thomas (1964) and Jake Jones (1947).

May 21: Red Sox 11, Phillies 3 -- Santana's smashing debut
In his Red Sox debut, Danny Santana batted leadoff and belted a homer as part of a 1-for-5 performance. In so doing, Santana became just the fourth player in team history to homer from the leadoff spot in his debut with the club. It hadn't been done since Ben Steiner on April 17, 1945, against the Yankees. Roy Johnson (June 15, 1932) and Elmer Miller (July 26, 1922) are the only others to accomplish the feat for the Red Sox.

May 20: Red Sox 8, Blue Jays 7 -- J.D. joins rare company
When J.D. Martinez ripped his go-ahead homer with two outs in the ninth, it was just the 16th time since 1937 the club has had a go-ahead homer while trailing with two outs in the ninth inning on the road. The most recent was by Brandon Phillips on Sept. 15, 2018. Before that, you'd have to go back to Dustin Pedroia's three-run shot in Anaheim against Huston Street on July 31, 2016. Before that? Adrián Beltré against Kerry Wood in Clevkeland on June 10, 2010. Translation: It doesn't happen often, so it should be savored when it does.

May 19: Red Sox 7, Blue Jays 3 -- A 5-for-5 start
After getting just five hits in Tuesday's 8-0 loss, the Red Sox matched that total with five straight hits to open Wednesday's game. It was the first time since Aug. 7, 2005, at the Metrodome that Boston opened a game with five straight hits. That time, it was Tony Graffanino, Edgar Renteria, David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez and Kevin Millar. This time, the knocks came from Kiké Hernández (single), Alex Verdugo (homer), J.D. Martinez (homer), Xander Bogaerts (single) and Rafael Devers (double). By the time starting pitcher Garrett Richards took the mound, he had a 5-0 lead.

May 18: Blue Jays 8, Red Sox 0 -- Verdugo's multiplicity
On a night when Boston's offense was practically silent, Alex Verdugo made a bit of noise with a pair of hits (one single, one double). As a result, he earned his 15th multihit game of the season, which puts him alone in third place in the American League. Only teammate J.D. Martinez and Houston's Yordan Alvarez have more (both 16).

May 16: Angels 6, Red Sox 5 -- Devers' big blast
If not for the blown lead in the top of the ninth, Rafael Devers would have been the story at Fenway. The slugger pummeled his 11th homer of the season in the bottom of the fifth, a three-run shot to right, that gave the Sox a 5-4 lead in a game they once trailed, 4-0. Devers leads the Majors in game-tying or go-ahead RBIs this season with 15.

May 15: Red Sox 9, Angels 0 -- It's a new year
It took the Red Sox just 41 games to win their 25th game of the season, which gives them one more victory than they had in the 60-game season of 2020. Thus far, the '21 Sox have had zero resemblance to their '20 predecessors. After finishing in last place a year ago, the Sox have been in sole possession of first place in the American League East for 36 consecutive days.

May 14: Red Sox 4, Angels 3 -- Keeping it in the park
In what has been a surprisingly strong season so far for the Red Sox, the starting pitching has been the difference. Boston's starters are keeping run totals down by keeping the opposition in the ballpark. In the past 19 games, the starters have allowed just seven homers in 107 2/3 innings and have an ERA of 3.51.

May 13: Red Sox 8, Athletics 1 -- Exit velocity on point
After scoring an aggregate eight runs in their previous four games -- three of them losses -- the Red Sox matched that total in the series finale. The Sox piled up those eight runs while having seven hits on batted balls with an exit velocity greater than 105 mph in the first three innings, the most such hits within the first three innings of a game in 2021. No other team entered play with more than four in the first three innings of a game.

May 12: Athletics 4, Red Sox 1 -- From red-hot to ice cold
After scoring 45 runs over a five-game span from May 4-8, the Red Sox have followed that up by scoring just eight runs in their last four games. As the offense goes, so go the Red Sox. The team is 19-2 this season when scoring four or more runs and 3-14 when scoring fewer than four runs.

May 11: Athletics 3, Red Sox 2 -- Eovaldi's homerless streak
Eovaldi has had his ups and downs so far this season, but one thing is constant: He's keeping the ball in the yard. The Red Sox right-hander has not allowed a home run since Sept. 12, 2020 (against Tampa Bay's Austin Meadows), which means he's been homer-free for 58 frames. Eovaldi's 45 homerless innings to begin 2021 is also the third most to start a season in the past 25 years of Red Sox history, behind only Pedro Martinez in 2001 (55 innings) and Derek Lowe in 2002 (88 1/3 innings).

May 10: Orioles 4, Red Sox 1 -- Pérez continues to lack support
Martín Pérez is now winless through seven starts in 2021, but the blame doesn't solely belong to him. Pérez has received 3.4 runs of support per game from his offense, compared to the 5.7 runs per game for the other starters. The Red Sox have scored more runs than any other team in the Majors (188), but they haven't seemed to get their bats working when Pérez is on the mound.

May 9: Red Sox 4, Orioles 3 -- Renfroe leading offense in May
With his third homer of May, Hunter Renfroe drove in his team-leading ninth run of the month. It was the second-hardest-hit ball of the game with an exit velocity of 113.1 mph, and it traveled a Statcast-projected distance of 453 feet.

May 8: Red Sox 11, Orioles 6 -- Double-digit dominance
The Red Sox are tied with the Reds for the most double-digit scoring games in the Majors this season. Alex Verdugo, J.D. Martinez, Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers have sparked the offense all season, as all four players have an OPS of .850 or above.

May 7: Red Sox 6, Orioles 2 -- Another five-inning stint for E-Rod
Though Eduardo Rodriguez wasn't spectacular, he got the job done, pitching five innings and allowing one run to improve to 5-0. Though Rodriguez prefers to pitch deeper into games, the five innings were significant. Rodriguez has gone at least five in his past 34 starts dating back to May 4, 2019, which gives him the second-longest active streak in the Majors behind Indians ace Shane Bieber, who has gone 39 straight starts of five innings or more. The Red Sox are 27-7 during those games.

May 6: Red Sox 12, Tigers 9 -- Verdugo's on-base streak
Invaluable Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo extended his career-best on-base streak to 24 games, the longest such streak in the Majors this season. During that stretch, he is hitting .351 with a .981 OPS.

May 5: Tigers 6, Red Sox 5 (10 innings) -- Double-digit K's record
Four Boston pitchers combined for 12 strikeouts against the Tigers on Wednesday, marking the ninth consecutive game Red Sox pitchers have struck out 10 or more batters, setting a new club record. The previous record of eight took place from Sept. 3-12, 2017.

May 4: Red Sox 11, Tigers 7 -- Barnes delivers again
No player has been more valuable for the Red Sox early in the season than closer Matt Barnes. After earning the American League Reliever of the Month honors for April, Barnes is off to a flying start in May. Not only was this his first five-out save, but he had only one previous save of at least four outs, and that was in 2019. Barnes is 7-for-7 in save opportunities this season. Barnes becomes the first Red Sox closer to record a save of five or more outs on 16 pitches or fewer since Jonathan Papelbon on July 21, 2008.

May 2: Rangers 5, Red Sox 3 -- Starters set up Sox for success
The American League East-leading Red Sox are performing above expectations this season due in large part to the consistency of the starting rotation. Sox starters have allowed three earned runs or fewer in six of the last seven games, nine of the last 12 and 22 of 29 this season. Boston's starting pitcher has gone at least five innings in all but six games this season.

May 1: Rangers 8, Red Sox 6 -- Vázquez joins 500 club
Red Sox catcher Christian Vázquez played in his 500th career game in Saturday's loss to the Rangers. In so doing, Vázquez became the 10th player in Red Sox history whose primary position is catcher to appear in that many games for Boston. By the end of the season, Vázquez should pass Rick Ferrell, Bob Tillman and Tony Peña and move into seventh place for most games by a Red Sox catcher.