Mitch Moreland ballin’ out and the Boston Red Sox can’t even get that right

The Boston Red Sox find themselves in the cellar of the AL East, maybe it’s because they continue to platoon their best hitter, Mitch Moreland.

You know who is leading the Boston Red Sox in home runs this year? Not Mookie Betts, he’s not even playing his games on the same coast as Fenway Park. You know who is leading the Red Sox in runs batted in? Not J. D. Martinez, you can count his RBIs on one hand. The answer to both questions is Mitch Moreland.

He even leads the team with a .323 batting average as well.

And yet Moreland finds himself in a platoon situation with Michael Chavis. No wonder the Red Sox are scuffling out of the gate this year, they don’t even field their best lineup every night.

Moreland, who popped two more home runs today, giving him six on the year, has been the most consistent hitter in the Sox lineup.

In a rare BoSox triumph, which ended with both Martinez and Rafael Devers hitting below .200 (and saw Andrew Benintendi fall to .056) Moreland continued his hitting crusade to will the team to victory.

His ninth inning, two-run jack to dead center field over the Green Monster, walked off the visiting Toronto Blue Jays and brought the Sox to within three games of .500. They leap frogged the Jays in the standings as a result as well.

Moreland has homers now in three of his last four games. Yet he has only cracked the lineup in two-thirds of his teams games on the season.

Chavis may be the first baseman of the future and he’ll get his turn when the time comes. Right now the Sox need to be focused on playing Moreland and making the most of his production while he is hot.

Even though they climbed to fourth place in the division, they are only 1.5 games out of a playoff spot, in this shortened season where half the teams in the league get to play postseason ball.

At a prorated $3M contract, the Red Sox may have a bargain on their hands. How far they can go with this lightning in a bottle, remains to be seen. One thing is for certain, Mitch Moreland should find his name on the lineup card night in and night out, moving forward.