BOSTON - Much like the Red Sox hits are suddenly coming in bunches this season, so are Jackie Bradley Jr.'s.
The Red Sox outfielder has been on a tear during his recent stint with the major league club, and that's never been on display more than it was on Saturday.
For the last two seasons, everybody inside and outside of the organization had been waiting for a sign from Bradley Jr. that he could, in fact, hit at the major-league level. Everybody knows he can field -- if he had regular playing time in the outfield he'd probably be up for a Gold Glove -- but his lack of production at the plate since his 2014 rookie season has prevented him from sticking with the team.
Are those days finally behind him? It's still too soon to say, but a 5-for-7 day with 2 home runs, 3 doubles, 5 runs, and 7 RBI certainly points in the right direction.
In fact, that stat line is a historic one. He's the only player on the Red Sox to ever have five extra-base hits in a game and he's one of only two players in major league history with five extra base hits in a game at the age of 25 or younger. (Someone named Larry Twitchell did it exactly 126 years ago to the day . . . but really, does that even count?)
But this wasn't just a one-day thing. Bradley Jr.'s on a career-high five-game hitting streak in which four of the five games he's had multiple hits. In fact, he's batting .591 and slugging 1.364 (13-for-22, 11 runs, 13 RBI, 3 home runs, 2 triples, 4 doubles) over that stretch.
Bradley Jr. turned a 1-0 game into a 3-0 game with a home run to center field off Felix Hernandez in the second inning. He sandwiched three more doubles between another two-run home run in the eighth inning, giving the Sox 22 runs on the day, their most runs in a game since June 27, 2003 against the Mariners.
"First of all I want to say we're all so proud of Jackie for what he's been doing over the past several games," Torey Lovullo said. "He's been grinding as we all know, and he has completely turned himself around and deserves all the credit. We ask a lot of him. He's up and down. But he's come up this last time ready to play. The approach is there, swinging at strikes. The overall confidence that he's shown when he's at the plate, he looks like he's ready to do some damage. We get to see the look on his face when he comes in the dugout. He's telling a great story. That story is he feels comfortable and he feels good about what's going on."
Going into August, Bradley had 40 at-bats with the Red Sox this season. On Aug. 5, his averaged dipped to .102. Since then -- receiving regular playing time with Shane Victorino traded and Hanley Ramirez battling injuries -- he's gone just one game out of eight without at least one hit and has raised his average to .250, with an .840 OPS.
The positive results have boosted his confidence.
"Actually getting the results. Hitting balls hard and having something to show for it," Bradley Jr. said. "As cliche as it sounds, when you hit the ball hard, you want something to show for it. It's finally showing."
Lovullo said that he's seen Bradley Jr. make adjustments by keeping his front foot down, keeping his hands back, and keeping his head on the ball. Those adjustments have allowed him to distinguish between balls and strikes and put better swings on the ball.
"We've had a lot of different times with Jackie," Lovullo said. "He's had a lot of good moments but nothing as special as what he's had over this past week. I know the numbers dictate that what he's done this past week is almost equal to his career, but we love Jackie and he deserves a lot of this credit. Like I've been saying for the past couple days, these young players go down and work hard, figure out their game, player development does their job. When they come back up here they deserve to have those moments because of all the hard work they're putting in."