The Red Sox have spent the past two weeks looking like a completely different club, and the change has been impossible to miss. Boston is 13-2 over its last 15 games, has swept three of its last four series, and is trying to complete a fourth sweep tomorrow afternoon.
What’s driving the surge is pretty clear: the pitching and defense are carrying the load, just as the front office expected when the roster was built. Even after losing Cy Young runner-up ace Garrett Crochet back in April, Boston still has what looks like one of the best rotations in baseball because the depth has held up so well.
Sonny Gray has been the biggest reason for that. In Crochet’s absence, he’s stepped into the ace role and delivered an 11-1 record with a 2.54 ERA. By the numbers, he’s also been one of the biggest All-Star omissions of the year.
The offense has finally started to cooperate, too. Boston has backed away from the all-or-nothing power approach and started focusing on getting runners on base so the hotter bats can do the damage. And the hottest production has come from a surprising place.
A lot of the credit belongs to the moves chief baseball officer Craig Breslow made. He usually catches heat from fans, especially after dealing Chris Sale and Rafael Devers for peanuts and letting Alex Bregman, who led the team last season, leave in free agency.
But this stretch has made it hard to ignore the impact of his additions. Willson Contreras has been an All-Star and a top ten hitter in the MLB, Caleb Durbin is finally giving Boston the production it needed at third base, and Gray, Ranger Suarez, and Jake Bennett have been dominant in the rotation.
Even Anthony Seigler, who was barely a footnote in the Durbin trade, has chipped in to help Boston keep winning.
If the Red Sox finish the job tomorrow, they’ll be 14-2 in their last 16 games and will have swept four of five series, including three straight on the road. They’d also move within 0.5 games of the final Wild Card spot.
That puts the pressure on Boston to keep pushing. The team needs to be a buyer at the deadline, and adding another slugger at shortstop, DH or catcher has to be on the table. Jeremy Pena would fit, though the Astros are in the hunt too, which means the price would be steep.
For Boston, the hope has to be that there’s a real plan in place this time - and that, for once, the deadline comes with action.
In Other News...
Red Sox Finally Have A Real Answer To Their Shortstop Problem
The Red Sox have played their way back into the AL Wild Card conversation, and the timing has only sharpened the need for a cleaner answer at shortstop. Injuries and underperformance have left the position unsettled for much of the season, turning what should be a stabilizing spot into one of the rosters most obvious pressure points as the schedule tightens.
Bostons front office has enough pieces to at least make a meaningful call if it decides to chase an upgrade, with the kind of outfield help, prospects and pitching depth that can get a rivals attention. The challenge is finding a move that fits both the urgency of the race and the long-term picture, because the Red Sox are no longer just patching a hole - they are trying to decide how aggressive they want to be in fixing it. [Read more 🡒]
Anthony Seigler May Be Reviving A Skill Red Sox Fans Love
Switch-hitting has long carried a certain appeal for Red Sox fans, and Anthony Seigler is suddenly giving that old skill set a fresh look. The Brewers minor leaguer stopped switch-hitting about a year ago and had been attacking left-handed pitchers exclusively from the left side, a simpler approach for a player trying to find his footing in pro ball.
Seigler has now brought his right-handed swing back into the mix, and the early return has included a home run from that side on Friday night. It is the kind of development that can matter for a player searching for a path forward, because if the approach sticks, it could give him more ways to survive and maybe even carve out a longer major league future. [Read more 🡒]
Red Sox Face Rare Roster Squeeze In Crucial Sweep Chance
Bostons push for a sweep against the Mets comes with a roster crunch that leaves little margin for error. The Red Sox will have only 12 available position players for the game after a series of roster moves, including optioning infielder Brett Harris, while the bench is further thinned by Willson Contreras sitting out a suspension.
The lineup squeeze adds even more weight to a pitching assignment that already carries plenty of attention. Rookie left-hander Eduardo Rivera is set to take the ball after a scoreless relief appearance earlier this season, and his Triple-A work has given Boston a reason to trust him in a spot where the Red Sox need innings and efficiency to keep the sweep chance alive. [Read more 🡒]