Farrell considering solutions for Drew's lefty woes

Sam Galanis
Contributing Writer

Stephen Drew has a .293 batting average in close games and in late innings. He bats .299 with two outs and .281 versus right-handed pitchers. He has 64 RBIs and a .768 on-base percentage. But his kryptonite? Lefties.

Drew bats an abysmal .181 versus southpaws, which is bad enough to bump his entire average down to .246. And with the postseason coming up, manager John Farrell, who has been beyond loyal to Drew throughout the season, is considering doing something about that. Namely, putting in pinch hitters in those late game situations when there’s a left-handed pitcher.

Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images
“Going forward, when there’s maybe more of a sense of urgency with postseason situations, I’m sure that’ll be something Stephen and I will talk through well in advance when that situation may come up again,” Farrell said according to the Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham.

Drew’s ineffectiveness against lefties has actually been a huge problem. Take Wednesday night for example. Drew was 0-for-6 with five strikeouts against the Orioles lefthander T.J. McFarland going into the game. But in the 11th inning against McFarland, with one out and a runner on first and second, there was no pinch hitter for Drew. He grounded into a double play to end the inning, and the Orioles ended up winning in the 12th.

What it comes down to is that going into the playoffs, Drew should get a pinch hitter in those types of situation. No matter how much faith you have in him, his numbers speak louder than anything. And with perfectly capable options, like Xander Bogaerts who is 6-for-12 against lefties now and batted .289 with a .926 OBP against them in Pawtucket, there’s really no excuse.




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