TORONTO -- Remember back in early May, when the Boston Red Sox were going through a painful stretch of not hitting with runners in scoring position, an irked Dustin Pedroia vowed that would change?
Well, it did. Through games of May 21, according to the team's crack PR staff, the Sox were the worst team in the league with RISP, batting just .199 (63 for 316) with eight doubles, three triples and 11 home runs. The numbers since that date: .298 (84-for-282), with 12 doubles, two triples and five home runs. Five Sox players are hitting over .300 with RISP in that span: Xander Bogaerts (.429), Pedroia (.423), Hanley Ramirez (.394), Mookie Betts (.333) and Pablo Sandoval (.313).
Bogaerts leads the Sox overall this season coming into Monday night's game with a .351 average with RISP, driving in 27 runs, matching Ramirez for the team high in RBIs.
Bogaerts hit a two-run double with the bases loaded in the third Monday night to give the Sox a 2-0 advantage, but with runners on second and third and no out, the next three hitters -- David Ortiz, Pablo Sandoval and Mike Napoli -- all popped out.