ANAHEIM — It is easy to forget all these months later that the Red Sox signed Kiké Hernández to be their second baseman. Due to the in-season construction of the roster, Hernández has instead emerged into their primary center fielder and that’s been one of the most significant developments of the season.
Hernández was at it again on Monday night at Angel Stadium, using his glove and arm to help his red-hot team to a 5-4 victory in the opener of a three-game series.
Making his 50th start of the season, compared to 16 at second base, Hernández raced back to the wall for a fly ball hit by Luis Rengifo that looked like trouble in the second. But Hernández got back in time, jumped as high as he could and came down with the baseball. At the very least, it would have been a run-scoring double if Hernández wasn’t able to come down with the ball. There’s a chance it would have been a two-run homer.
He wasn’t done. In the sixth, with the leadoff man at first and nobody out, Max Stassi smashed one into the gap in right-center. Hernández fired a strike to second base, where Xander Bogaerts tagged out Stassi.
It was the 28th outfield assist of the season and second of the night for the Red Sox, as left fielder Danny Santana fielded a single by Shohei Ohtani and fired a bullet to the plate to nail Jose Rojas, who was originally ruled safe in the fifth. Thanks to a challenge by Sox manager Alex Cora, that call was reversed.
Aside from outfield defense, the Sox — winners of 10 of 11 and 15 out of 20 — got more hitting heroics from Rafael Devers. The first-time All-Star mashed his 21st homer of the season, a two-run shot to right-center in the fourth as part of a three-hit, three-RBI night.
Lefty Martín Pérez, though certainly helped by his defense, had a strong performance from the mound. Over 5 1/3 innings, Pérez (7-4, 3.89 ERA) gave up eight hits but just one earned run.
Christian Arroyo made a strong return from the injured list, belting a homer to left in his first at-bat since June 20.