The Red Sox extended their winning streak to ten games in a row Thursday night, beating the Blue Jays 6-4. A Mookie Betts grand slam figured prominently in the game, and hitting with men on base figures prominently in the streak.
The Red Sox offense in the last ten games hit like an individual MVP candidate, posting a .325/.395/.511 slash line. With men on base, however, that goes up to .337/.429/.592. Note the big increase in power. Eight of their 11 home runs came with men on base, 15 of their 28 doubles came with men on base, and both of their triples came with men on base. That’s how offense is supposed to work; get men on base, then use long hits to bring them around to score, even from first base.
Meanwhile the pitchers are doing just the opposite. They are holding the opposition to a .246/.297/.390 slash line overall. With men on, however, that drops to .188/.236/.273. Twenty of the 29 extra-base hits they allowed came with the bases empty, including eight of the ten home runs. The extra-base hits and walks they are allowing are doing little damage, since once men are on base, the Red Sox pitchers shut the opposition down.
Boston right now is playing well on both sides of the ball, to the point that if they go 34-33 the rest of the way they still win 100 games.
from baseballmusings.com https://ift.tt/2mgZdwg
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