When a player, particularly a young player, is mired in an extended slump, sometimes all it takes is their team being mentioned in trade rumors regarding their position on the diamond. The Red Sox have recently been connected with potential third-base trade targets such as veteran Adrián Béltre among others. Obviously, if the club brought a proven asset like that to Boston, it would cloud the situation for 21-year-old Rafael Devers .

After taking an 0-for-5 with two whiffs back on June 21, Devers was hitting a meager .232 for the campaign and had put up a pretty weak .665 OPS with 20 strikeouts across 74 plate appearances for the month. Over the eight games since, the second-year slugger has completely turned it around and shown the Boston brass exactly why they believed so strongly in him in the first place.

Devers delivered an incredibly impressive performance in Saturday’s 11-0 rout of the archrival Yankees, recording the first five-hit game of his MLB career which included a grand slam and saw him finish just a triple shy of the cycle. Devers closed out the month of June going 13-for-31 with two homers and four doubles. It would definitely be surprising at this point to see the Red Sox bring in a third-base rental for the second half of the season.

 

In Case You Missed It

Yes, you read that right, the Yankees were shut out at home Saturday night. Suffice it to say, Chris Sale was in peak form for the Red Sox. The six-time All Star cruised through seven scoreless frames, allowing only one hit and one walk while racking up 11 punchouts. Sale has now reached double-digit strikeouts in three straight starts and 4-of-5.

Making just his sixth MLB start and second of this season for the Braves, Max Fried certainly gave notice that he’d like to remain at the show with a sensational effort Saturday evening. The 24-year-old southpaw held the Cardinals scoreless over 6.2 innings, striking out 11 while giving up just four hits and three walks. Fried also picked up the first hit of his big-league career with a fifth-inning single off of Luke Weaver .

Staying on the mound, Dereck Rodriguez turned in another terrific outing for the Giants during Saturday’s 7-0 win at Arizona. Rodriguez worked 6.1 shutout innings, surrendering six hits and two walks alongside five strikeouts. Over his last four starts, the rookie righty has posted a nice 2.16 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 21-to-3 K/BB ratio across 25.0 innings.

Brandon Crawford continues to get it done at the plate for the Giants. In support of Rodriguez, the veteran shortstop went 1-for-3 with a homer, two walks, two RBI and two runs scored. During the past seven days, Crawford has gone 10-for-25 with five extra-base hits, six RBI and six runs scored. He enters July leading the way for a surprising San Francisco club and at least in the discussion for N.L. MVP given his combined contributions between the field and the box.

 

Streaking

Shin-Soo Choo (TEX) - 12 games - 1.099 OPS, 18-for-49, 3 HR

Ozzie Albies (ATL) - 10 games - 1.129 OPS, 21-for-47, 1 HR, 7 2B

Avisail García (CWS) - 10 games - .860 OPS, 13-for-43, 3 HR

Matt Duffy (TB) - 9 games - .850 OPS, 13-for-35

Mark Canha (OAK) - 9 games - 1.122 OPS, 11-for-33, 3 HR