Rafael Devers strikes out 3 times vs. Orioles, now 0-for-19 with 15 Ks to start the season

The strikeouts continued on Monday for Rafael Devers. During the Boston Red Sox's 8-5 loss to the Baltimore Orioles, the designated hitter went 0-for-3 at the plate with two walks and three strikeouts. 

Through five games, Devers has yet to get a hit in 19 at-bats and has returned to the dugout 15 times due to a strikeout.

After striking out 10 times through the first three games of the season, Devers set an MLB record. He's also now the firs hitting since 1901 without a hit and at least 15 strikeouts in his team's first five games, according to Baseball Reference.

The issues at the plate is a continuation from the end of the 2024 season where Devers went 1-for-15 with 11 strikeouts over his final four games. He finished with a .272 batting average, 28 home runs and 83 RBI. He also struck out a career high 147 times.

Devers, 28, made noise during spring training that he was not interested in giving up playing third base for Alex Bregman, a Gold Glove winner who signed with the Red Sox over the winter. Devers is one of the worst third basemen in baseball via multiple advanced metrics, including outs above average (OAA) and fielding run value (FRV).

Ultimately, the decision was made to have Devers serve as designated hitter instead of playing third base, where he's played 951 of his 956 MLB games.

The slow start has drawn plenty of critics early on, including from former Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon, who questioned the conditioning of Devers.

“Maybe [Rafael Devers] is out of shape,” Papelbon said. “Maybe we gotta trim a little bit of fat… Know what happens when you trim fat? Pigs squeal… You trim fat, pigs squeal. That’s what you’re looking for- your pigs to squeal. They hit home runs.”

"Pigs squeal" is Papelbon's way of saying the bats will make noise.

The Red Sox are off Tuesday before resuming their series with the Orioles on Wednesday. Maybe Devers can get himself a torpedo bat on the off day to help him snap out of this major slump.