Stephen Drew was awful at the plate against the Detroit Tigers in the ALCS, but John Farrell stuck with the shortstop because of his experience on defense.

Many around the Boston Red Sox were clamoring for Farrell to bench Drew, who went 1-for-20 with 10 strikeouts in six games, but instead Will Middlebrooks was removed from the lineup for the two games started by youngster Xander Bogaerts.

"It's huge," Drew told RealGM of the faith Farrell showed in him. "He's done it all year and he recognized that I was struggling at the plate, but I was playing defense really well. Him having that confidence in me, knowing he had that trust in me, it's huge."

Drew, who hit .253/.333/.443 in 124 games (501 plate appearances) during the regular season, also struggled offensively in the ALDS. He was 2-for-15 against the Tampa Bay Rays, making him an eye-popping 3-for-35 (.085) in the playoffs.

"There's been a lot of push back on a couple of guys in our lineup that have had some struggles, both [Shane Victorino] and Drew," Farrell said after Game 6. "In the seventh inning, Stephen makes a great play that shuts down an inning."

In addition to sticking with Drew, Farrell kept Victorino in the lineup and he hit the game-winning grand slam. Victorino was 3-for-24 against the Tigers.

"The playoffs are all about wins," Drew said. "Not everyone on the team hit, but we had timely hitting. That's what it was about. We picked each other up and it's fun to be a part of this team."

Drew had the second-highest fielding percentage (.984) among AL shortstop during the regular season. His defense looked even better when compared to that of Jose Iglesias, who the Red Sox traded to the Tigers as part of the three-team deal that brought Jake Peavy to Boston in July.

Iglesias had two errors in the ALCS, both leading to eventual game-winning Boston runs.

With a few days off and a fresh opponent in the St. Louis Cardinals, Drew can start anew at the plate.

"The World Series is a new series, that's the way I look at it," he said. "Hopefully I'll break out of this thing, but the main thing is, looking back, we won."