Trevor Story has the breakout game he desperately needed (Highlights)
Don’t look now. But since the Boston Red Sox headed to Atlanta for a quick two-game series with the Braves, they are 6-3 in their last nine games and have a chance to win their third series in a row after taking the first two against the Seattle Mariners at Fenway Park. And their $140 million second baseman has been a central figure in the turnaround.
Trevor Story, like most of the Red Sox offense, slogged through an abysmal start to the 2022 season, but has really heated up in recent games. Safe to say he’s on fire, now, after launching three home runs and driving in seven in Thursday night’s 12-6 win over Seattle. Story’s production was quite literally the difference for the Red Sox on the scoreboard.
Story also stole a base in the game, becoming the first second baseman in MLB history to steal a base in a three-homer game, according to the Elias Sports Bureau (via ESPN). He started the season batting .194 with a .545 OPS and zero home runs in his first 24 games as a member of the Red Sox. In the nine games since, he’s batting .333 with a 1.243 OPS, and has hit five home runs to go with 13 RBIs.
“Just kind of settling in,” Story said during a postgame interview on the MLB Network. “Couple things that I’ve been grinding on, working hard all season, just getting more comfortable and feeling like myself in the box lately. That’s just kind of as simple as I can put it, trying to hit the ball hard and not do too much and big things happen for me, sometimes.”
Story hit two of his home runs off changeups, and another off a four-seam fastball. He said one of the keys to his recent turnaround has been better timing, particularly being quicker to turn on fastballs.
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“It’s huge, it really is huge,” Story said. “We were talking about tenths of a second. The more time you can give yourself to play with is obviously – that’s what you want. It’s been a battle for me this first month and a half, but I’m feeling much better and I feeling like the timing is a lot better.”
The Red Sox still have plenty of ground to make up at 16-22, and 12 games behind the first-place Yankees. But it appears that Story has finally arrived for a lineup looking generally more like itself lately. We’ll see if they can continue to stack wins, and if Story can continue to be a major factor in them.
Matt Dolloff is a writer and podcaster for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Have a news tip, question, or comment for Matt? Yell at him on Twitter @mattdolloff and follow him on Instagram @realmattdolloff. You can also email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.
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