After winning the 2018 World Series, the Boston Red Sox were considered one of the favorites going into the 2019 season to compete for the title once again.
But things didn’t start that way, as the Red Sox, despite bringing back most of the main parts of last year’s title squad, got off to a 9-15 start, falling far behind the Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees in the American League East.
Slowly but surely, Boston got back above .500, then started making a move on the division leaders and the Wild Card. And now, heading into Sunday night’s series finale against the Yankees, the Red Sox have won five of six games, all against New York and Tampa Bay, and are tied with Oakland for the second Wild Card spot.
Streaking Into Contention
The Red Sox won their last four and five of six prior to the All-Star break, and they’ve continued that since, taking 15 of their last 22 heading into Sunday night.
A close three-game series with the baseball’s best team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, certainly gave them some confidence coming out of the All-Star break, but their current series, in which they’ve outscored the Yankees 38-13 in the first three games will certainly take that confidence even higher.
Something that would help even more would be the re-emergence of ace Chris Sale’s dominance. Sale started the season slowly, emblematic of the Red Sox’s season, dropping his first five decisions and not picking up a victory until May.
Sale was 1-7 heading into June but has started to pick up some momentum, as has Boston as a team. He heads into Sunday night’s game with New York with a 5-9 record, having won his last two starts. He’s also third in the American League in strikeouts with 182.
On a pitching staff with Sale, David Price, and Rick Porcello, it’s 26-year-old Eduardo Rodriguez who leads the team in wins, matching his career high already with 13. The bullpen hasn’t been particularly good, tying for second in the American League in blown saves with 18, but if the starting pitching can come around, the Red Sox will be a tough out if they make the postseason.
Offensive Machine
As much as the Red Sox have struggled record-wise this season, they still go into Sunday’s action with the most runs in the American League with 620, 19 more than the second-place Yankees. They also lead the AL in hits, doubles, RBI and batting average, so there hasn’t been a shortage of solid play at the plate for the Red Sox.
The team’s stars are starting to get hot, which is why the team is all of a sudden so dangerous. Mookie Betts showed his power stroke on Friday night, hitting three home runs to lead Boston to an easy victory, and third baseman Rafael Devers has been hitting better in July, putting together a .354 batting average and hitting nine home runs and 10 doubles in 22 games.
There’s still work ahead of the Red Sox, with seven more games with the Rays and Yankees on tap for the next week. The regular season doesn’t end for another two months, so obviously a lot can happen, but Boston at least looks like it will be in the postseason race until the end.
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