It’s his seventh career five-RBI game. All three knocks left the bat at over 103 mph, which is nice. But Story’s issue hasn’t been exit velocity nearly so much as a lack of contact and an unusual amount of his contact coming on the ground. Maybe the worst of his slump is over, but we’re still not sure a big turnaround is on the way.

Story’s 413-foot shot to left-center off Bryce Elder missed being a grand slam by a foot. The struggling Story also singled and walked in the contest. It’s his first multihit game since May 2 and the first time he’s reached safely three times since Apr. 21.

Story struck out in his other three at-bats, and one good swing hardly means that he’s back. Still, any positive here seems like a reason for celebration. Story came into the night hitting .131/.191/.164 with one homer and 42 strikeouts in his last 31 games. The homer tonight off Grant Holmes was a no-doubter, leaving his bat at 109 mph and traveling a projected 431 feet.

Any chance of Story getting benched would seem to be gone now with Alex Bregman getting hurt, but there’s really no excuse for the Red Sox still batting him higher than eighth or ninth. He has just 14 hits, one homer and six walks to go along with 39 strikeouts over 119 plate appearances in his last 28 games. His season OPS dipped to .589 tonight.