BOSTON — Perhaps everyone is looking too deeply for reasons the Red Sox have turned into one of the most fearsome home teams in the Major Leagues after their well-chronicled struggles protecting their house the previous three seasons.
A quick look at shortstop and the No. 4 hitter in the batting order provides perhaps the catalyst for Boston going into beast mode at Fenway Park.
Trevor Story is having a fully healthy season for the first time in his four seasons with the Red Sox, and the results speak for themselves, both from an individual and team standpoint.
“It’s been a great season, let’s put it that way,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “He had one bad month. So he’s been very consistent in everything, running the bases, hitting the ball hard, driving in runs, playing great defense, leading the group.”
The 32-year-old veteran put all of his tools on display in this one.
In the top of the second, Story went deep into the hole and fired a jump throw to first to take a hit away from Otto Lopez. Is that the most satisfying type of play to make as a shortstop?
“I think so. I’m always trying to throw on the run,” said Story. “That’s just kind of the way that my body works. And any time I can do the spin throw up the middle or the jump throw in the hole, it’s something I like to do.”
And in an example of how everything is coming up Story these days, he lofted what looked like a routine fly ball to left that drifted and drifted and landed just over the Green Monster, caroming off a sign that honors late Red Sox legend Luis Tiant.
A Fenway special for sure, Story’s 19th homer of the season would have been gone in just two other ballparks — Daikin Park (Houston) and Rogers Centre (Toronto).
Easy pull power was a big reason the Red Sox signed Story in the first place. He truly took advantage of the elements on this one.
“Yeah, I thought I got enough on the barrel that it was at least off the Monster,” said Story. “It’s always nice to get a Fenway homer like that. I was just trying to get something in the air, honestly, with the situation.”
Perhaps Story has earned some good fortune after all the adversity he faced from 2022-24, when broken bones and surgeries were more frequent than big hits or defensive gems.
Not only are Story’s bat and glove back in full functional order, but so, too, are his legs. Story stole second base in the bottom of the first as part of his team’s two-run rally, making him 22-for-22 this season. Those 22 consecutive successful steal attempts are a club record dating back to at least 1920, when stolen bases started getting tracked. What has been the key to Story’s success on the bases?
“The athlete. The baseball IQ. The coaching staff. All of the above,” said Cora.
This was Story’s team-leading 13th game this season with three or more RBIs. The three-run homer was his seventh this season, tied with Junior Caminero, Seiya Suzuki and Pete Alonso for most in MLB.
Story now has 79 RBIs, putting him on the verge of his first 20-homer/80-RBI/20-steal season since 2019, when he was at the top of his game with the Rockies.
“I try to pride myself on being a well-rounded player,” said Story. “So to be able to play kind of to the standard that I’ve set for myself over my career, it’s rewarding, for sure, after the last few years. But yeah, this is how we envisioned it when we signed with Boston, and playing games like this is what it’s all about. We’re having a lot of fun.”
Story’s Sox are 16-2 at home since July 7, 18-3 since June 30 and 25-6 since June 4. Boston’s 41-22 home record ranks behind only Toronto in the American League.
“Trevor, I think he’s the game changer with that [improved success at home],” said Cora. “Alex [Bregman] is doing his part, although he was hurt [earlier in the season]. But I think having right-handed hitters that don’t hit it off the wall, [but] hit it over the wall, it helps.”
