The Red Sox didn’t get off to a great start in their series against the Kansas City Royals, but their top star was among multiple batters who continued their struggles against left-handed pitchers.
Royals All-Star Cole Ragans shut down a Boston offense that was meant to combat its issues against lefties. Ragans gave up one run off four hits in Kansas City’s 6-1 win over the Red Sox.
Boston is now 12-15 against left-handers after Friday’s loss at Fenway Park, and it highlighted a need to add at least one right-handed bat to solve an issue that has plagued the Red Sox throughout the first half of the season.
While Tyler O’Neill and Connor Wong are the most proficient regulars who haven’t had many issues against lefties, Rafael Devers hasn’t seen similar success. The star third baseman has a .702 OPS against left-handers compared to a 1.088 OPS against right-handed hurlers. However, manager Alex Cora didn’t express much concern about the All-Star’s struggles.
“It’s part of the season,” Cora told reporters, per Christopher Smith of MassLive. “He’ll get hot and start hitting the ball in the air.”
The Red Sox will be in a comfortable spot for the rest of the series, but post-All-Star break will be a time for Boston to try to rectify its run against left-handers.
