Boston Red Sox Star Rafael Devers Continues Historic Dominance vs. New York Yankees

Rafael Devers blasted a solo home run in the top of the ninth inning on Sunday night, giving the Boston Red Sox designated hitter 30 career bombs against the New York Yankees.
Bronx, New York, USA; Boston Red Sox designated hitter Rafael Devers (11) reacts after hitting a solo home run against the New York Yankees during the ninth inning at Yankee Stadium.
Bronx, New York, USA; Boston Red Sox designated hitter Rafael Devers (11) reacts after hitting a solo home run against the New York Yankees during the ninth inning at Yankee Stadium. | John Jones-Imagn Images

In need of a little insurance late Sunday night, the Boston Red Sox got just that from Rafael Devers.

The 28-year-old designated hitter did what he did best, delivering a leadoff home run in the top of the ninth inning against the New York Yankees. That made it a 10-5 ballgame, and the Red Sox held on to win the rubber match 11-7.

Now, in 113 career games versus New York, Devers is a .272 hitter with 30 home runs, 22 doubles, 77 RBIs and an .884 OPS.

According to StatMuse Baseball, the only Red Sox player ever to reach 30 home runs against the Yankees in fewer games is Manny Ramirez, who needed 102 appearances to hit the benchmark. It took David Ortiz 125 games, while Jim Rice and Ted Williams did so in 144 and 146 games, respectively.

Devers is batting .283 with 14 home runs, 18 doubles, a .929 OPS and a 2.4 WAR through 67 games this season, leading the American League with 57 RBIs and 51 walks. Since starting the year 0-for-19 with 15 strikeouts, the star slugger is batting .306 with a .991 OPS.

Lucky for Devers, the Red Sox are set to face the Yankees again this coming weekend at Fenway Park. Before that, though, they will host the Tampa Bay Rays, who have limited Devers to a .239 batting average and a .696 OPS since his rookie year in 2017.

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a staff writer covering baseball for “Fastball on SI.’’ He previously covered UCLA Athletics for On SI’s All Bruins site, and is a UCLA graduate, with his work there as a sports columnist receiving awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for On SI’s New England Patriots site, Patriots Country, and he was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk. Sam lives in Boston.

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