McAdam: With the game on the line, Rafael Devers welcomes the challenge

The demeanor never changes.

The Red Sox could be up four, down five, or tied, and Rafael Devers has the same familiar routine at the plate -- endlessly rolling his shoulders, taking deep cleansing breaths, shaking his head in wonderment and slapping himself in the helmet.

Then there's the comical conversations he holds with himself, when he seems to be chastising himself for missing a pitch, or sometimes, passing one up.

Regardless of the score or the inning, Devers goes to the plate with the same goal in mind: to hit the ball hard somewhere. It appears to be merely a coincidence that he succeeds more frequently when teammates occupy the bases.

In Sunday's 4-3 Red Sox win over the Baltimore Orioles, Devers cracked a solo homer to center with one out in the second. On a swing that resulted in the low-flying liner 423 feet to straightaway center, Devers appeared to barely flick his wrists.

But it was his at-bat four innings later that proved to be the signature moment of the Sox' win, their fourth in a row and six in six tries in Baltimore this season. The Red Sox had loaded the bases with no out, but Xander Bogaerts looked uncharacteristically overmatched, swinging and missing on a pitch low and out of the strike zone for the first out.

In stepped Devers, who despite fabulous plate coverage that enables him to make contact with pitches others can only dream about, naturally fares better when he more stays more closely attuned to the strike zone. Devers chased two pitches well above the strike zone before eventually smashing a fastball to right field, scoring two runs.

That double, which put the Red Sox ahead to stay for the afternoon, improved Devers' average to .405 (15-for-37) with runners in scoring position. That's 10th-best among all qualified hitters in the game, though Devers seems at a loss to explain his success in those situations.

"Like I've said before, I become aggressive in that situation,'' Devers said, "and look for pitches that are in the zone. I just get aggressive. I look to do the job that presents itself. I get extra aggressive, but within the zone.''

In analytic circles, the notion of someone being a "clutch hitter'' is almost laughable. The date suggests that such a thing doesn't exist. And yet, season after season, Devers seems to rise to the challenge that such opportunities provide.

His success this year may seem somewhat counterintuitive, since, for the most part, the Red Sox have not produced much in the lower half of their batting order. Once an opposing pitcher gets past Devers in the fifth spot, there hasn't been much to worry about. (Though, to be fair, the team's production has improved somewhat in the last 10 days in the lower half of the lineup).

Then again, if teams are deliberately pitching around Devers in big spots, he's been smart enough to not get himself out. His walk rate heading into Sunday was 12.1 percent, more than double his rate (5.2 percent) of a year ago. In fact, Devers has already drawn more walks this season --  16 walks in 32 games -- than he did in the 60-game schedule a year ago.

"He's been very patient lately, which is good,'' noted Alex Cora. "When he does that, he becomes very dangerous.''

Call it maturity. Call it learning more about himself. But know that, given the chance, Devers still is inclined to get his hacks in when there are RBI opportunities available.

While Devers hasn't had much protection behind him in the lineup, he's had plenty of at-bats with runners on base. Two of the hottest hitters in the league -- J.D. Martinez and Xander Bogaerts -- hit directly in front of him, creating a gauntlet through which opponents must run.

If one doesn't get you, another surely will. It just so happens that Devers represents the final link. And he's determined to take advantage when his turn comes.

Perhaps it's no more complicated than this: Devers doesn't rattle. He enjoys what he's doing, and isn't about to shrink from the moment.

Cora frequently mentions his first interaction with Devers in the 2017 ALDS between the Red Sox and Houston Astros. Cora, then Houston's bench coach, recalls leading the chorus of Astros chirping at Devers from the dugout late in Game 4 of the series. Not yet 21 and on the postseason stage for the first time, Devers laughed off the attempt and cracked a ball to Fenway's triangle off veteran reliever Ken Giles for an inside-the-park homer.

Even then, Cora took note: the kid didn't scare easy.

"There's not a big moment for him. He enjoys playing baseball,'' Cora said. "He's just happy, very relaxed. He loves playing the game.''