How can the Red Sox overpower New York and win the AL East?

Here’s why the Red Sox will overpower Yankees, win the AL East

By Cody Rivera | May 20, 2018

BOSTON - MAY 17: Boston Red Sox player Mookie Betts runs to the outfield at the end of the third inning under a colorful sunset. The Boston Red Sox host the Baltimore Orioles in a regular season MLB baseball game at Fenway Park in Boston on May 17, 2018. (Photo by John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) /

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BOSTON – MAY 14: From left, home plate umpire Ben May, Oakland Athletics catcher Jonathan Lucroy and Red Sox player Hanley Ramirez line up to see if a bottom of the seventh inning fly ball to right field will be fair or foul. It was fair and caught for the final out of the inning. The Boston Red Sox host the Oakland Athletics in a regular season MLB baseball game at Fenway Park in Boston on May 14, 2018. (Photo by Jim Davis/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) /

3. The mid-lineup duo of Martinez and Ramirez

The big bats in the Yankees lineup might strike fear into opposing pitchers simply because of the names: Judge, Stanton, Sanchez.

The big bats in Boston’s lineup might not be quite as intimidating: J.D. Martinez and Hanley Ramirez. Those names just don’t possess the same star power that the other guys have. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t just as dangerous at the plate.

Ramirez has been an up-and-down figure in Boston over the last three years. He had a good season mixed in with a couple of not so good ones. He’s had a tendency to be injury prone, missing large chunks of the 2015 and 2017 seasons. And last year, he had a career-low batting average of .242.

He’s turned it around in 2018 though, as he promised he would. He might not be knocking baseballs out of the park as much as he would like to, but he’s still driving in runs, which is all he really needs to do. His 29 RBIs are the third most on the team right now, behind only Martinez and Mookie Betts.

Meanwhile, Martinez was Boston’s big free agent acquisition, somewhat of a response to the Yankees acquiring Stanton. After a slow start to the season in which he struggled to not only hit home runs, but also just reach base in general, Martinez has gradually become the power hitter the Red Sox hoped he would be. Midway through May, he’s launched 13 homers, which is second on the team behind Betts’ 15.

Martinez has filled the power-hitting void that was left following the retirement of David Ortiz two years ago.

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