Devers adds to brilliant career with 200th homer

BOSTON -- Similar to many of the 199 that preceded it, homer No. 200 for Rafael Devers was a no-doubt shot that rocketed off his bat with an exit velo of 106.7 mph while traveling a Statcast-projected distance of 399 feet, clearing the fence in center field. The bat speed generated by Devers was 75.7 mph.

But more than the metrics was the importance in the moment: A three-run shot in the middle of a pennant race gave the Red Sox a four-run lead in the bottom of the fourth inning. It was a game the Red Sox badly wanted after losing the first two of this three-game series against the red-hot and defending National League champion D-backs.

In the end, that was what made it bittersweet. Even with Devers staking his team to that commanding lead, it wasn’t enough. Arizona came storming back against Red Sox ace Tanner Houck with three in the fifth and three more in the sixth en route to Boston's 7-5 loss.

For the second time in two weeks, the Red Sox were swept at home by a top contender. Last time, it was Houston.

Fortunately for the Red Sox, the two teams they are chasing in the American League Wild Card standings -- the Royals and the Twins -- both lost. Boston remains 4 1/2 games behind those two clubs, who are currently tied for the second spot.

“Obviously these past few games weren’t the best for us, but we’re still in a good position,” said Devers. “We’re still well into the race. We just need to turn the page and be ready for the next series and win some more games. There’s still plenty of more games remaining in the season.”

There are 33 games left, to be exact. And if Devers gets on one of his patented hot streaks, Boston’s road to the playoffs becomes more realistic.

His road to 200 was impressive in that he became just the 11th player in the long history of the Red Sox to reach that number.

“It feels great,” Devers said. “There's been so many great baseball players who have come to this organization. This is one of the best organizations with the most history in baseball and for me to be in that conversation is great.”

Considering that Devers has nine more seasons on a contract that takes him through the ‘33 season, you can be sure he will continue to climb his way up the Red Sox leaderboard.

“I know I still have a lot more to give, a lot more to give to this organization,” said Devers. “I don’t want to stop at 200 or 250, I’m still young. I want to keep going. I want to keep improving those numbers.”

Devers became the first in Red Sox history to hit 200 home runs before turning 28. By number of games, Devers became the seventh-fastest to hit 200 for Boston, belting it in career game No. 958.

While John Farrell was the manager for the first 10 homers that Devers hit and Ron Roenicke was there for 11 dingers in 2020, current Sox manager Alex Cora has had a front-row seat for 179 of them.

“I’ve seen a lot of them and I'm very proud of that,” Cora said. “This is a guy that, regardless of circumstances the last few years, being in last place or playing [through injuries] in ‘18 and ‘21, he posts. He plays. You see him right now doing the things he’s doing [with a nagging left shoulder]. He’s putting together one of his best offensive seasons in his career and there’s more. There’s more there.”

While the Red Sox are leaning into a youth movement this season with likely more to come next season with the possible arrival of the team’s top three prospects (Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony and Kyle Teel) as ranked by MLB Pipeline, Devers figures to anchor the club’s lineup with force in the coming years.

“Incredible player, incredible talent and excited to watch him doing his thing for the next 10-plus years,” said Houck. “Incredible milestone for him and hopefully he can celebrate that with his family tonight.”

Here is the Red Sox 200-homer club:
Ted Williams, 521
David Ortiz, 483
Carl Yastrzemski, 452
Jim Rice, 382
Dwight Evans, 379
Manny Ramirez, 274
Mo Vaughn, 230
Bobby Doerr, 223
Jimmie Foxx, 222
Rico Petrocelli, 210
Devers, 200