McAdam: Lower third of Red Sox lineup comes to the rescue

No matter how formidable a lineup is -- and, on most days, the Red Sox' lineup is as strong as any in the league -- there are times when the usual suspects don't come through.

Tuesday, in the cold and swirling wind at Target Field, was one such day.

The first four hitters in the Boston batting order --  Kiké Hernández, Alex Verdugo, J.D. Martinez and Xander Bogaerts -- combined for 15 at-bats and exactly one (1) hit. And even that was squibbler that turned into an infield hit for Bogaerts.

Fortunately for the Red Sox, who extended their early-season winning streak to seven, they more than made up for this with contributions from the final three spots in the lineup.

In the fifth inning, No. 7 hitter Hunter Renfroe, making his first appearance since the end of the homestand, drilled a ball into the teeth of wind, catching a break when the ball struck the top of the center field fence and bounced over, providing Renfroe with his first homer as member of the Red Sox and the team itself with its first run of the afternoon.



Immediately following Renfroe's shot, Christian Arroyo drilled a line single to center and rode home on an opposite-field double by Bobby Dalbec, knotting the game at 2-2.

Three innings later, with the same still tied, Arroyo and Dalbec paired up again, yielding similar results. Arroyo led off the inning with a double to right and Dalbec soon added another run-scoring double, virtually identical to the one he had laced in the fifth.

When the Red Sox escaped to the warmth of the clubhouse, the final three hitters in their lineup had combined to account for five of the team's total of seven hits, and both scored and knocked in three of the four runs.

Not bad a trio at the bottom of the lineup card.

"That's a game-changer. That's what makes us a good team,'' commented Alex Cora. "Regardless of who plays, we're going to be competitive offensively. For Christian, the at-bats are getting better and better. And with Bobby, we saw the contact the last game in Baltimore. It was just a matter of time. He did a good job with a man at second and two outs (with the run-scoring double in the fifth), not trying to do too much, and goes the other way to get the RBI.''

Arroyo may be slowly working his way into becoming a regular -- or what passes for one, now that Cora is stressing versatility and shuffling players from the infield to the outfield and back. He's now hit in three straight and of his seven hits this season, five have been doubles.

Then there's Dalbec, whose raw power is well documented. So, too, is his penchant for strikeouts. But Dalbec is no mindless slugger, intent on hitting the ball 470 feet each time up. Particularly when he falls into funks at the plate and has difficulty making contact, he's a smart enough hitter to cut down on his swing and focus on using the whole field.

Cora saw hints of improvement in Baltimore Sunday when, over his final three plate appearances, Dalbec doubled to left, lined hard to center and worked a walk.

On Tuesday, that measured approach was again evident. In the third, Dalbec drove a pitch to right but, thanks to the sub-freezing temperatures and wind, saw it die on the warning track, a few feet shy of the wall. In the dugout, Cora could be seen providing encouragement to Dalbec. Dalbec later referred to the at-bat as a win, even if it didn't produce the desired result.

"He's like everybody else,'' said Cora. "When you control the strike zone and you control your aggression in the strike zone, you're going to see results. We trust him. We know that there's going to be a few days when he might swing-and-miss a lot. But we do believe he can make adjustments and he can go the other way. That's the most important thing with him -- he drives the ball to right-center.

"Today, he stayed with the plan, he was very disciplined and you saw the results.''

Throughout his career, Dalbec has regularly focused on shooting the ball the other way when he's found himself slumping. It helps that, even with a less ferocious cut, Dalbec's size and strength can still yield extra-base hits.

"If I'm thinking that way and react, that's the way it goes sometimes for me,'' he said. "I would say it's more mental for me. I think when I'm in a good spot mentally, my swing cuts down on its own.''

It's the rare game in which Verdugo, Martinez and Bogaerts produce one hit between them. But Tuesday was a reminder that, on such occasions, the Red Sox have alternate providers occupying the bottom of their lineup.