SEATTLE (AP) — Rafael Devers stunned his teammates, his manager and his opponent. Pitches that far out of the strike zone are not supposed to end up over the fence.
“Unreal,” Boston manager Alex Cora said. “It’s just hand-eye coordination, power. You’ve got to be perfect to hit a ball like that, and he was for this one.”
Devers hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning, spot starter Kutter Crawford and five relievers combined on a one-hitter, and the Red Sox beat the Seattle Mariners 2-0 Sunday.
Boston closed out a successful West Coast swing by shutting down Seattle’s offense, allowing only Luis Torrens’ single in the fifth inning. The Red Sox finished 8-2 on a 10-game trip.
They can thank Devers for providing the needed blow on a day offense was difficult to come by for both sides.
Seattle was hoping Devers wouldn’t even get to the plate in the eighth, but reliever Paul Sewald hit Rob Refsnyder on a 2-2 fastball.
Sewald was ahead 0-2 to Devers and threw a fastball well outside the strike zone. Devers got his barrel to the pitch and drove it into the Red Sox bullpen in left for his 14th homer.
“I swing at everything and the pitch was a little closer than you think, and I was able to hit it out of the ballpark,” Devers said.
It was the second straight day Sewald (3-2) allowed a home run after Bobby Dalbec’s connection in the ninth inning Saturday.
“There might be one or two hitters in this league, left-handed hitters, that can square that ball up, let alone hit it out of the ballpark,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said. “You have to tip your hat.”
Tyler Danish (2-0) was the third Boston reliever and earned the victory. John Schreiber got help in the eighth from a terrific diving catch by Refsynder in right field to…
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