4. Boston Red Sox (67–50, plus-90, LT: 4)
Rafael Devers’s home run Sunday night at Yankee Stadium requires a great deal of context.
— Devers is a 20-year-old rookie, and is also the second-youngest player in baseball. His home run was the fourth of his major league career, in his 15th game.
— The home run came in the ninth inning, with the Red Sox down by one, thus tying the game.
— The home run came off Aroldis Chapman, one of the most successful closers in recent baseball history.
— The pitch from Chapman was a fastball that registered 103 mph on the radar gun. It was the hardest pitch ever hit for a home run since analysts started tracking velocity for such events, in 2008.
— Devers smashed the ball 423 feet. To the opposite field.
— The home run was the first allowed by Chapman to any batter this season.
— It was the first one he’s allowed to a left-handed hitter in six years.
— The homer set the stage for a Red Sox victory, opening Boston’s lead in the AL East up to 5 ½ games.
— Pretty...pretttaaaaaaay good.
