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"THE FUTURE AIN'T WHAT IT USED TO BE" August 1, 2015 ... On a day when the Sox mashed out 16 hits in an 11-7 win over the Rays, five different players had multihit games and rookie third baseman Travis Shaw, fresh up from Triple A Pawtucket, blasted a pair of homers to highlight a 4-for-4 day at the plate. Shaw, who had made 43 appearances at third base this season for Pawtucket, provided the Red Sox with so much more than depth. He was a one-man wrecking crew against the Rays. Shaw submitted a light-stanchion-shattering performance with a walk, a double, the first two home runs of his career, 3 RBIs, and 5 runs in the romp over Tampa Bay before a Fenway crowd of 35,944. Xander Bogaerts went 4 for 5 with three RBIs, shooting three singles up the middle along with the double. Rusney Castillo went 3 for 4 with three RBIs and a run scored, and Ryan Hanigan went 2 for 5 to fuel an offense that’s been hitting on all cylinders for the past week. Plugged into the lineup with Pablo Sandoval recovering from being hit by a pitch in the left forearm Thursday, Shaw became the first Sox player in at least 100 years to have four hits, five runs, and 11 total bases in a single game. Not bad for a player with 19 career at-bats. In the third inning, with a double under his belt, Shaw shot a fastball from Rays starter Matt Moore into the Rays bullpen for the first home run of his career. In the eighth, he dumped a fastball from reliever Kirby Yates into the middle of the tarp in the center-field bleachers, capping the Sox onslaught. In need of a bounce-back start after giving up four earned runs in 3⅓ innings last week against the White Sox, Joe Kelly was up-and-down, giving up five runs in five innings, allowing nine hits and striking out six batters. The bulk of the damage came in a four-run second inning, when Castillo roped an RBI double to right field, Brock Holt scored Castillo with a sacrifice fly, and Bogaerts added a two-run double to center. Over the past seven games, the Sox have scored 51 runs, hitting .332 and smacking nine homers. The Sox have scored at least seven runs in five of their last seven games and they’ve homered in all seven. The 25-year-old Shaw came to the park uncertain if he was even going to be activated. The Sox made room for Shaw on the 25-man roster by optioning right-handed pitcher Jonathan Aro back to Pawtucket. Shaw was a triple shy of the cycle, having an opportunity against Rays pitcher Kirby Yates in the eighth inning. Instead, Shaw hit a two-run homer to straightaway center. Shaw, who launched the first two home runs of his career, became the first Red Sox player since at least 1914 to record 4 hits, 5 runs, and 11 total bases in a game. His five runs were the most by a Boston player since Dustin Pedroia accomplished the feat Aug. 12, 2008, against the Texas Rangers, and it was the most runs scored by a Sox rookie since Walt Dropo had five against the St. Louis Cardinals on June 8, 1950. |
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