McAdam: Depth boosting Red Sox at right time

It's not hard to pinpoint what turned the Red Sox' season around.

Mired nine games under .500 in early May, the Sox had been getting strong starting pitching since the beginning but lacked the necessary offensive backing. Then, in the second week of May, that began to turn.

Suddenly, rather than strand baserunners by the boatload and losing close, low-scoring games, the Sox started to mash. Since May 10, they lead MLB in runs scored, batting average, on-base percentage, OPS, doubles and extra-base hits while ranking second in total bases and third in slugging.

Put simply, the Red Sox hit their way back into contention. Problem solved.

But for the last two weeks, the roster has been struck hard by injuries. As their last West Coast trip wound down, the Sox suddenly found themselves without 40 percent of their starting rotation (Garrett Whitlock, Nathan Eovaldi) and without their starting center-field/leadoff hitter (Kike Hernandez).

Not only have the Sox not succumbed to injuries, they've actually prospered. Since the start of the Seattle series, when the trio went to the IL -- none has returned as of yet -- the Red Sox are 10-3. Instead of allowing the loss of personnel to send them spiraling in the playoff chase, they've actually made up ground, leap-frogging over Tampa Bay and moving within a half-game of Toronto, the wild card leader and second-place team in the American League East.

The reason? Depth.

The rotation has been buffeted by Josh Winckowski, who has won his last two starts and will take the mound Saturday night in Cleveland as the Sox attempt to win their seventh straight series.

As for the loss of Hernandez, the Sox have benefited by the play of two outfielders who were in Worcester until recently -- Rob Refsnyder and Jarren Duran. One or the other -- and sometimes together -- they've more than made up for Hernandez being unavailable. Duran didn't contribute much in the Red Sox' 6-3 victory over the Guardians Friday night, but Refsnyder, who wasn't in the starting lineup, worked an eight-pitch walk in a pinch-hitting spot in the seventh and scored, then produced a run-scoring double two innings later.

But the real start of the night, from an offensive standpoint, was Christian Arroyo.

Arroyo himself came off an IL stint himself, having contracted COVID. He was only activated Friday afternoon, and with Xander Bogaerts, having postponed a planned day off at the tail end of the homestand, sitting this one out, Arroyo got the start at shortstop.

In five plate appearances, Arroyo reached base four times: a hit by pitch, two singles and a huge, tie-breaking two-run homer in the Red Sox' three-run seventh that proved to be the game's turning point.

There's a certain irony in Arroyo coming to the rescue right off the IL, since he himself has been somewhat injury-prone the last two seasons. He had a handful of IL stints last year before his COVID case forced an unwanted vacation at the start of the last homestand.

But Arroyo long ago figured out how to contribute when he gets a chance. A former first-round pick, injuries and circumstance have prevented him from being an everyday player, much less a star. He has, however, enough skill to help out at a number of positions -- he's played right field fairly well for someone who had never played the position until spring training this year -- and enough bat-to-ball ability to come up with some big hits.

"Unfortunately, I had to do it a lot last year, with the ups and downs,'' Arroyo told NESN of his ability to rebound from an IL stint and immediately contribute. "It is what it is. When I get back here, being comfortable with the coaches and stuff, and setting a plan and sticking with that plan. It's a testament to all the hard work we do as a group. On any given day, any person can go up in our lineup. From the top to the bottom, we can all contribute and that's how you play winning baseball.''

"It seems like he was able to slow it down today,'' said Alex Cora. "He took some pitches early in the count and he put a good swing on the homer. We were joking that he wasted his outs in Worcester the last few days. He brings energy every day and he tries so hard and we like him a lot. Today, the role players did an amazing job -- Arroyo, Refsnyder with the walk (and double) -- and we were able to win the game.''

Talented as the everyday lineup, the Red Sox roster isn't top-heavy. There may be stars on the club, but unlike in past years, the Sox don't fold when their best players aren't available.

Cora is fond of saying that it takes way more than the 26 players to be successful over the demands of a long season. Eventually, you're going to need reinforcements.

The Red Sox have lived this lesson -- not just Friday night, but for the past two weeks. Even before the dog days of the season hit and the injuries pile up, they can take comfort that they're better equipped than most to handle any personnel losses.