McAdam: For all the Red Sox' problems, offense isn't one of them

Their bullpen is under siege, so much so that they're moving a starter back there to help them out.

Their rotation has been hugely inconsistent, a problem that isn't likely to be solved soon now that the pitcher who was going to return from the IL and stabilize things, Nathan Eovaldi, is the one going to bail out the bullpen.

But for the last few weeks, one aspect of the team's game has clicked: the offense.



After their 10-6 drubbing of the Toronto Blue Jays Tuesday night, the Red Sox have now scored six or more runs in each of the last five games. And over the last 17 games, the Sox are averaging a tick under seven runs per contest with 31 homers in that span.

This was the way it was supposed to be from the start of the season, of course. The Red Sox led the majors in virtually every significant category except home run last season and returned virtually the same lineup.

But it took a while to click. It hasn't helped that they've been without their projected first base platoon of Mitch Moreland and Steve Pearce for several weeks now. Mookie Betts has not been nearly the same offensive force he was a year ago. And Jackie Bradley Jr. looked lost for the first two months of the year.

Lately, however, it's all clicked for the Sox, and ironically, of late, it may be connected to the No. 2 spot in the lineup.

Over the winter, Alex Cora decided to flip-flop Betts and Andrew Benintendi in the order, putting Benintendi in the leadoff spot that Betts occupied in his MVP season while dropping Betts down to No. 2.

Benintendi didn't take to the top spot, unsure whether to take the aggressive approach favored by modern leadoff hitters, or a more patient style to facilitate getting on base. In the end, neither work and the plan was abandoned.

Cora reinstalled Betts in the No. 1 spot a few weeks ago, and for the most part, that hasn't produced the desired results either.

But when Benintendi sat for a couple of games on the last homestand, Cora experimented with Rafael Devers in the second spot and the switch has energized the lineup.

In the last six games since the move was made, Devers is 15-for-27 with eight doubles, 10 runs scored and eight RBI -- six of them coming Tuesday when he pounded out four hits including two homers.

"He's consistent with what he's doing,'' marveled Alex Cora. "He's dominating the strike zone and he's only 22. I'm just glad we were patient with him. We know there's going to be times when he's only 22, but overall, he's one of the best third basemen in the big leagues and he's showing it on a nightly basis.

"One thing that's different from last year is, he's staying in the zone. The walks are up and the strikeouts are down. When you start doing that, great things are going to happen. There was a period (earlier this season) when he was leading the league in hitting and he got caught up in the average and he was swinging at everything, chasing hits. And he's not doing that anymore.

"(Tonight), he pulled the ball on the ground (for a two-run single), he went the other way (for a homer in the eighth), he was aggressive in the strike zone. He's doing everything right, right now.''

And, nestled behind Betts and in front of Xander Bogaerts and J.D. Martinez, he has found the perfect spot in the lineup.

It helps, too, that the Sox are getting significant contributions from the lower half of the order. Bradley, after a two-month cold spell, is now as hot as any hitter in the league, his average boosted from a low of .144 before the Sox last visited Toronto to its present .239 after a two-hit performance Tuesday night.

Christian Vazquez has helped to lengthen the lineup, too. He homered Tuesday and added a single and double and now has five homers and 14 RBI in his last dozen games.

Not long ago, the Red Sox lineup looked life a cliff dive after the fifth spot in the order. No more.

The Red Sox may not be as deep as formidable as, say, the Yankees' lineup -- as they saw firsthand over the weekend -- but it's no longer segmented into dangerous and ineffectual. One through nine, the Sox have hitters who can do damage.

Now, about that pitching staff...