Devers’ gift of pitch recognition has led to best start of career

BOSTON — In the top of the seventh inning Friday, one of Rafael Devers’s many gifts at the plate made its way to the surface. The Red Sox were leading the contest, 6-3, vs. the Phillies but Devers’s two-run homer off Phillies reliever Connor Brogdon extended the Sox’ lead in their eventual 11-3 win.

The home run was Devers’s 12th of the year, which again tied with J.D. Martinez for the most homers on the Red Sox. The way Devers got to that 12t home run, however, tells a better story on just how gifted he is at the plate.

On a 3-2 pitch, Brogdon attempted to pull the string on Devers with a changeup. Initially, it looked as if Brogdon achieved that. Devers’s body was out in front on the pitch, yet his hands remained back just enough for him to park Brogdon’s offering in the right field seats.

Devers entered Saturday’s contest off to the best start of his career. He was hitting .281/.357/.588 with a .945 OPS and 37 RBIs. Within that, though, is Devers’s gift of recognizing spin, break, offspeed pitches, adjusting on the fly even when it looks like he’s fooled and still producing serious damage.

“He sells out for the fastball, and he’s able to keep his ground,” manager Alex Cora said before the game. “He seems like he’s out in front, but the bat head stays back. There are guys that can do different things with their body. I always said that Mookie [Betts] and Francisco [Lindor] they’re so flexible and explosive that they’re able to gain ground and stay back and then from there, just explode and hit the ball hard. Raffy is very similar.”

As of Saturday, Devers was hitting .364 on breaking pitches and .444 on offspeed pitches. This comes despite an approach that relies on aggressiveness, that can flirt with pitches outside the zone. Despite that, Devers still feasts.

Marwin Gonzalez struggling against fastball: Marwin Gonzalez has flashed an above-average glove on defense, particularly at second base. But the 32-year-old veteran has struggled mightily at the plate, batting .199 in 154 plate appearances to go along with just one homer in that span. He’s in the midst of an 0-for-15 skid, too.

“The one that he’s fighting is actually catching up with the fastball,” Cora said. “He has a game plan. But it feels like he’s conscious that he’s not catching up with it. So he doesn’t want to buy into what he’s thinking or what he’s seeing.”

Chris Sale returns to mound: Chris Sale threw a flat ground and got on the mound again Saturday ... Ryan Brasier (calf strain) threw a bullpen ... Red Sox pitching prospect Eduard Bazardo (lat strain) will be out for a while, per Cora. The Sox manager said he will have more information on the extent of the injury Sunday ... Alex Verdugo (left hamstring tightness) will likely sit the rest of this series ... Cora and the Sox want to take advantage of the upcoming off-day Monday by giving Verdugo three straight days of rest.