Healthier Dustin Pedroia finds power stroke at the plate

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BOSTON — Dustin Pedroia’s error-less streak is at 114 games entering Wednesday, but that’s dwarfed by the above-and-beyond plays he’s made lately.

In Tuesday’s 5-4, 15-inning win over the Blue Jays, he expertly fielded a grounder, tagged the runner retreating to first base and fired on to first for a double play. The play he made in Texas, fielding a carom off the wall and contorting his body to make a throw to first base where Carlos Gomez had made a turn toward second base, will go down as one of the best this season.

Pedroia might be even better at the plate right now. With a seven-game hit streak and home runs in three of his last nine games, the second baseman appears to be healthier and is the shining light in a mostly cold lineup. 

Most noticeable is the fact that his power's come back. In Pedroia's last 19 games, he's hitting .354 with a .446 on-base percentage and .532 slugging.

“He’s playing at a very high level on both sides of the ball,” Sox manager John Farrell said Wednesday. “And he’s doing it having to deal with his own physical ailments that everybody else is dealing with. He finds, you find that he’s in the middle of a key moment regularly. And usually he’s making the right decision, if not all the time."

Pedroia's been bothered by his left leg as well as his left wrist this season.

“Yes. He’s feeling better," Farrell said. I think you know, he’s probably, maybe tweaking some things with his maybe his lower half that’s allowed him to free himself up a little bit more [at the plate]. It’s great to see the gap power he’s shown, particularly to the pull side.”

Pedroia’s also been particularly good in key moments. He has 12 hits in his last 23 at-bats with runners in scoring position, and dating to Aug. 9, 2016, he’s hitting .431 in those situations — the highest mark in the majors for those with at least 75 at-bats.

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