After a six-game road trip in which the Boston Red Sox went 3-3 against the St. Louis Cardinals and Minnesota Twins, it\u2019s only fitting to do a Stock Watch.<\/p>\n
Here are three players on the rise and three signs of potential trouble on the horizon for Boston. (All stats entering Thursday\u2019s off-day.)<\/p>\n
Three up
\nTrevor Story, SS
\nAfter an ice-cold start to the season in which he struck out 20 times, had zero multi-hit performances and didn\u2019t draw a walk in his first 13 games, Story appears to be heating up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The veteran shortstop went 8 for 24 (.333) with two walks and five strikeouts on the road trip. All eight hits came in the last four games dating back to April 12, a span in which he was 8 for 16 (.500) with two doubles, a home run, two runs and eight RBI, had a four-hit performance (April 12) and a five-RBI game (April 15).<\/p>\n
Story returns to Fenway Park slashing .208\/.222\/.338 on the season. Though still markedly worse than his .265\/.329\/.490 career line entering this year, it\u2019s a clear improvement from the .151\/.145\/.245 he posted over the 12 games leading up to the road trip, and exactly what this inconsistent Red Sox offense needs.<\/p>\n
Ranger Suarez, LHP<\/p>\n
Su\u00e1rez entered free agency last fall as the owner of a 3.39 ERA over 116 regular-season starts since the Philadelphia Phillies made him a full-time starter in August 2021. His 1.48 postseason ERA ranks second among the 96 pitchers to reach 35 innings in their first 11 postseason games since ERA became an official metric in 1913. (Orel Hershiser has him beat by one point.)<\/p>\n
So when the Red Sox signed Su\u00e1rez to a five-year, $140 million contract in January, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow confidently said<\/a>, \u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s a question anymore that the identity of our team, the strength of our team, is going to be our pitching.\u201d<\/p>\n But after missing several weeks of spring training for the World Baseball Classic, and barely pitching for Team Venezuela in the tournament, Su\u00e1rez struggled to begin the season. His first two starts, against the Houston Astros<\/a> and San Diego Padres<\/a>, lasted 4.1 and 4 innings, respectively. Each time he allowed four earned runs on at least six hits.<\/p>\n Perhaps those games were simply extended spring training for the new Sox southpaw, because he was stellar in most recent start, in St. Louis on April 11<\/a>: six scoreless innings, three hits, two walks and six strikeouts, all on a mere 84 pitches.<\/p>\n Connelly Early, LHP<\/p>\n