The Red Sox have spent the past month and a half doing something that hardly ever gets done in Major League Baseball. At 64-51, they’ve won 11 of their last 12 and gone 32-5 since June 25, a blistering run that stands as the best 37-game stretch in franchise history. That stretch also included a franchise-record 15-game win streak in July.
It’s the kind of surge that puts Boston in rare air. Dennis Lin noted that the 2022 Los Angeles Dodgers were the last team to post a 32-5 stretch within a single season, and that’s the only other club in MLB history to match this kind of pace over a 37-game span.
“The Red Sox (64-51) have now won 11 of their past 12 games. They are 32-5 since June 25, the best 37-game stretch in franchise history - a run that also included a franchise-record 15-game win streak in July. The 2022 Los Angeles Dodgers were the last team to have a 32-5 stretch within a single season,” Dennis Lin wrote.
That’s the backdrop Boston is living in now: elite company, historic results, and real reason to feel good about where things stand. But the Dodgers comparison comes with a warning label too. That 2022 team didn’t finish the job with a World Series title, and the Red Sox can’t let a scorching July and August blur the bigger picture.
The talent is there for Boston to make a serious run. Still, the season isn’t over, and history alone won’t hand them anything.
In Other News...
Red Sox Make A Surprising Shortstop Call Before Blue Jays Series
The Red Sox are opening a long grind against the Blue Jays with a little lineup shuffling, as Andruw Monasterio is getting the night off after handling shortstop every day for nearly three weeks. Boston is beginning a stretch of 16 straight days with games, so the club is already balancing the need to keep bodies fresh while still putting out a workable lineup for a division series that can matter down the road.
Nick Sogard gets the start at shortstop and will hit leadoff, giving Boston a different look at the top of the order as the calendar tightens. Masataka Yoshida is also back in the lineup at designated hitter after missing two games with illness, a small but useful boost as the Red Sox try to keep moving through a demanding run without letting the wear show too early. [Read more 🡒]
Roman Anthonys Recovery Suddenly Feels Bigger For Bostons Stretch Run
Roman Anthonys lost summer has started to turn a corner, and for the Red Sox that makes his recovery feel a little more relevant as the stretch run comes into focus. Anthony has been sidelined since early May with a torn ligament in his ring finger and remains on the 60-day injured list, but his rehab has advanced enough that he is now able to hit off a machine, a meaningful sign after a long absence.
Interim manager Chad Tracy has been careful not to oversell it, but there is at least cautious optimism around the process now. Anthony still has more steps to clear before anything becomes real, yet the possibility of getting him back in the lineup before the regular season ends gives Boston something to monitor closely as the games start to matter more. [Read more 🡒]
Jarren Durans Red Sox Future Suddenly Feels Far Less Secure
Jarren Durans season has put the Red Sox in an awkward spot with one of their more recognizable position players. The offense has never quite caught up to the expectations that followed his breakout stretches, and this year he has sat near the bottom of the qualified-hitter leaderboard in both wRC+ and batting average. Even so, his range and instincts in the field have still given Boston a reason to keep him in the lineup while the team tries to sort out what he is now, not just what he looked like he might become.
The trade deadline only added to the uncertainty. Boston brought in another right-handed outfielder, a move that points to more competition for playing time in a spot Duran had hoped to hold onto, while reports also suggested his trade value was not especially strong. Between the slump, the shifting roster picture and the off-field concerns that have followed him, the conversation around him has started to sound less like a reset and more like an offseason decision that could come with a hard financial edge. [Read more 🡒]