The New York Yankees are hot. So are the Boston Red Sox.
The Yankees are 19-5 in June while the Red Sox have a 19-4 record this month.
Boston’s resurgence has lifted the club to second place in the American League East, 11 games behind the first-place Yankees.
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One of the many reasons for the Red Sox revival is Rob Refsnyder. The former Yankees prospect is riding a six-game hitting streak, during which he’s batting .500 (9-for-18 with five RBI).
According to the Boston Globe, “Refsnyder, 31, is the first Sox player to reach base safely in his first 11 games since Daniel Nava in 2010. He’s also 3 for 3 with a walk as a pinch hitter.”
“He understands that teams who win need guys who hit lefties and guys who play good defense and guys who come off the bench and put [up] good at-bats,” (Red Sox manager Alex) Cora said Saturday before the 4-2 victory over the Guardians. “He controls the strike zone. We saw that the last few years.”
“The older you get, the more comfortable you get in the role I’ve been given,” Refsnyder said. “Credit to the coaching staff for helping me stay ready. You can’t replicate a major league game but you can do little things so you’re as ready as you can be.”
However the Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham says Refsnyder, who’s hitting .414 with a 1.141 OPS this season, is due to fall back to Earth.
Refsnyder has given the Sox good at-bats and above-average defense. Will it last? The odds are against it. He’s a 31-year-old playing for his sixth team in the last six years. But Refsnyder has given the Sox a lift at a time they needed one.
Refsnyder, who was a fifth-round pick of the Yankees in 2012, is no stranger to bouncing in and out of the big leagues. Refsnyder made his MLB debut with the Yankees in 2015, and proceeded to play in 94 games over three seasons, hitting .241.
The Yankees traded Refnsyder to the Toronto Blue Jays in 2017 for outfielder Ryan McBroom.
Refsnyder then hopped from the Blue Jays to the Cleveland Indians to the Tampa Bay Rays to Arizona Diamondbacks to the Cincinnati Reds to the Texas Rangers and the Minnesota Twins before heading to Beantown.
MORE MLB:
- ‘Little doubt’ where Yankees’ Aaron Judge will land in free agency, MLB insider says
- Yankees stun Astros with walk-off win: Aaron Judge chases Roger Maris | Inside the box score
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Mike Rosenstein may be reached at mrosenstein@njadvancemedia.com.
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