2021 BOSTON RED SOX
HOT AND COLD AND HOT AND OUT ...

The 2021 Red Sox were a last place team that was not picked to go anywhere. But they masked all their flaws by kicking and scratching out wins and pulverizing the baseball. They surprised everyone with a strong first half and occupied first place. Then they were devastated by a team-wide COVID outbreak and were 10 games out in the first week of September. Even under this set of circumstances, the Sox never quit and were a team, who would be red hot one moment but then go ice cold the next.

In a battle for the wild card spot, after losing three straight to the Yankees during the last week of the season, they scrambled and hung in to barely make in it into the American League Wild Card Game, where this time they beat the Yankees and started to roll. They steamed through the league leading Tampa Bay Rays in the ALDS and next met the Houston Astros for the American League pennant. After losing the first game, the Sox piled up 21 runs in the next two games, breaking all sorts of records. But as it happened all season, their bats collectively went ice cold suddenly. They scored only three runs on just ten hits in the last three games and were sent home.

They could not have had a better manager. Nine months after the the Red Sox and manager Alex Cora parted ways because of his involvement in the Astros cheating scandal, the two sides got back together. A last-place finish in a season meant Ron Roenicke's run as skipper wouldn't continue into 2021. On November 6, 2020 the Sox rehired Cora after his previous 27-month stint ended abruptly when he was implicated in Major League Baseball's investigation of the Astros cheating scandal. 

ALEX CORA

In December, the Sox signed free-agent San Diego Padre outfielder, Hunter Renfroe to a one year contract and then signed Rays pitcher, Matt Andriese for one year.

Los Angeles Dodger utility-man Kike Hernandez was next, signing to a two year contract in January. That was followed by the Sox signing Angels pitcher Garrett Richards to a one year deal and then making a trade with the Yankees. The Sox picked up relief pitcher Adam Ottavino from the Yanks for a player to be named later.

In February, the Sox traded Andrew Benintendi to the Royals for outfielder Franchy Cordero. Pitcher Hirokazo Sawamura was picked up from Japan for a two year deal. The Sox also re-signed their pitcher, Martin Perez, picked up Danny Santana as a free agent in early March and finally saw Dustin Pedroia announced his retirement.

The Sox started the season with three disappointing losses to the Orioles at Fenway Park. There were a few bright spots however. J.D. Martinez bounced back from a disappointing season last year to lead the Red Sox offense, going 4-for-8 with a pair of doubles and a homer. Tanner Houk pitched well although losing the second game, striking out eight in four innings.

The reigning American League champion, Tampa Bay Rays next game to Fenway and were blasted in the first game of the series on April 5th, by an 11-2 score. Xander Bogaerts was the offensive leader, with four hits, while J.D. blasted his second homer of the season. Nick Pivetta picked up his first Sox win with five shutout innings.

In the second game of the series on April 6th, the Sox came from behind with a 6 to 5 walk-off win, as J.D. hit a line drive over the head off Tampa Bay right fielder, Randy Arozarena with two men on base. Arozarena face-planted as the ball soared over him, and the Red Sox mobbed J.D.

Sox batters pummeled the Rays for a three game sweep in the final game. Nate Eovaldi was immense on the mound in the 9-2 win. He pitched seven innings, giving up just three hits.

On to Baltimore to play the O's first home game at Camden Yards of the season and the Sox spoiled their opener, by beating the Orioles, 7 to 3 on April 9th. Eduardo Rodriguez, out all least year with Covid-19, picked up his first win of the year. J.D. Martinez doubled in the game and became the first Red Sox player to hit an extra base hit in each of the first seven games to start a season.

Two games later, the Sox made it six straight with a sweep of the Orioles in a 14-9 win. J.D. led the way again as he slugged three home runs in the game. In his first eight games, J.D. collected 17 hits (12 extra base hits), five home runs and 16 RBIs with a .472 BA. Rafael Devers also homered, his fourth in the three game series.

In Minnesota, Bobby Dalbec knocked out a pair of RBI doubles to lead the Sox, 4-2 on April 13th. The Sox then took two in the next day's doubleheader to make it nine straight games. Alex Verdugo's sliding catch ended the first game, 3 to 2, preventing the tying run from scoring. He then singled in the go-ahead runs and added a homer in the second game in a 7 to 1 rout.

The Sox were the first team in MLB history to lose the first three-plus games, only to turn things around and win at least the next nine in a row.

With the Chicago White Sox in town, the Red Sox turned a 4-3 deficit into a 7 to 4 win on April 17th. Marwin Gonzalez homered to start a four-run eighth inning. Kike Hernandez and Xander Bogaerts (.421 BA) each had four hits in the game, while reliever Adam Ottavino struck out all three batters he faced, to get the win.

The Red Sox split the series with Chicago by beating them 11-4 on April 19th, with a six-run first inning. Nate Eovaldi enjoyed the support but didn't need it, striking out 10 in his 6 1/3 innings of work.

With the Blue Jays in town, the Sox continued to win by beating them 4 to 2 the next night. Bogaerts slugged his first homer of the season to back Eduardo Rodriguez.

Against the Seattle Mariners on April 23rd, Bogaerts (.378 BA) had another big game in the 6-5 victory. He hit his third homer in his last four games, with three RBIs. The Sox split with the Mariners as Rodriguez won his fourth game, 5 to 3 in the finale and J.D. Martinez banged out two doubles It was the Sox 11th come-from-behind victory.

The Sox headed down to New York to face the Mets on April 27th. Garrett Richards was outstanding, notching up his first victory of the year, 2 to 1, supported by Bobby Dalbec, who bombed his first homer of the season. Then Nick Pivetta outdueled Jacob DeGrom the next night, to sweep the two game set with the Mets, 1-0.

In Texas, J.D. hit two homers in his first two at bats, as the Sox scored all their runs via the long ball to beat the Rangers, 6 to 1 on April 30th. They concluded April with a 17-10 record, to lead the A.L. East by 3 1/2 games.

Against Detroit the Red Sox managed to hold on with an 11-7 win against the last place Detroit Tigers on May 4th. The Sox jumped out to a quick lead, but the bullpen gave most of it back and only the clutch pitching of Matt Barnes held them off.

Two days later the Sox won a sloppy 12-9 game against the Tigers, after the Sox bullpen blew the lead three times. Franchy Cordero broke out of an 0-for-25 slump with three hits and a shoestring catch to end a threat.

In Baltimore the next night it was Bobby Dalbec's turn to end his slump. After going 0-for-27, he singled in the third inning and then put the Sox in the lead with a three-run homer, helping Eduardo Rodriguez win his 5th game, 6 to 2.

The next night, May 8th, the Sox erupted with 11 runs by the sixth inning, going on to win 11-6. Bogaerts bombed a 414 foot homer as one of his three hits. Verdugo also had three hits, while Christian Vazquez and Hunter Renfroe each had two. The Sox (21-13) led the majors with 183 hits, 76 doubles and a .269 team batting average.

Unfortunately the bats of the best offense in the majors then went silent as they lost the next three games, finally busting out with a 8-1 win over the Oakland A's on May 13th and a 9-0 whitewash of the Angels two days later.

The final game of the Angels series was a heartbreaker. With two outs in the ninth inning and a man on, the Sox up by a run, Mike Trout hit a bloop fly ball that fell safely in short right field, just out of the reach of three Sox fielders. Then Shohei Otani slugged a long home run into the right field bleachers that put the Angels ahead, 6-5 and proved to be the game winner.

Then after being shut out by the Blue Jays at their spring training park in Duneden, Florida, the Sox batters showed why they are tops in the American League. On May 19th, Alex Verdugo and J.D. Martinez hit back-to-back homers and the Sox ran away with a 7-3 win. But most impressive was the pitching of Garrett Richards. Richards, who started out the season lacking control (6.48 ERA), had turned it around and won his fourth game (2.20 ERA) in his last five starts.

The final game with the Jays on May 20th, was a dramatic one. The Sox blew a 5-0 early lead only to come back with three runs in the top of the ninth inning, with two outs, to prevail 8 to 7. The game winner came from J.D.'s 250th career home run. It was the Sox' 17th come-from-behind win this season.

In Philadelphia, newcomer Danny Santana launched two home runs in his first two games as a member of the Red Sox. The Sox took two of the three games, but in the process fell into second place for the first time since the beginning of the season.

They next returned home to face the Atlanta Braves for two games and split. In the second game on May 26th, Nick Pivetta got his sixth win and remained undefeated, as the Sox erased a 3-0 deficit and behind Rafael Devers, slugged their way to a 9 to 5 win.

One of the strangest games seen at Fenway Park, in a long time happened on May 28th. The entire game was played in the rain, with each inning seeing the conditions deteriorate more and more. Against the Miami Marlins, the Sox came from behind in their half of the fifth inning to make the game an official one. Alex Verdugo homered thru the driving rain to score three runs to put the Sox ahead 5 to 2. Then in the top of the sixth inning, with puddles growing all over the muddy infield, Sox reliever, Adam Ottavino, had trouble with controlling an extremely wet baseball and wildly walked the bases loaded. He managed to get the third out and at that point, the umpires mercifully suspended play.

The next day, with COVID restrictions finally lifted, the Sox beat the Marlins again, 3-1, but this time, in front of 25,000 Fenway fans.

In Houston, the Sox batters took it on the chin from Houston pitchers, scoring only four runs in the first three games. But Martin Perez (3.09 ERA) returned the favor, allowing the Sox to win the final game, 5 to 1. He pitched 7 2/3 shutout innings.

Rafael Devers continued strong leading the American League with 18 doubles and 46 RBIs. The hottest Sox player was Hunter Renfroe who had batted .317 since May 1st with six home runs.

At Yankee Stadium the Sox beat the Yankees on June 4th, 5 to 2. Devers homered into the upper deck for a three-run homer in the first inning. In the next game, Kike Hernandez broke up a tie game in the eighth inning with a double down the left field line, helping the Sox to a 7 to 3 victory. The Sox swept the Yankees by winning the third game, 6 to 5 in 10 innings. After erasing a 3-1 deficit, Xander Bogaerts drove in the go-ahead run with a sac fly in the eighth. Then in the 10th, he struck again with a two-run double that put the game away. It was the first time in 10 years that the Sox had swept the Yankees in New York.

Back at Fenway, the Houston Astros dominated the first two games with the Sox. Then on June 10th, the Sox turned the tables and won a tug-o-war match, 12 to 8, where the lead changed hands six times.

The fireworks continued the next night  on June 11th vs the Toronto Blue Jays. Alex Verdugo banged a ball off the left field wall in the ninth inning, to give the Sox a 6 to 5 walk-off win.

ALEX VERDUGO

At one point down 5-1, the Sox came from behind for the 23rd time this season. (Sox pitchers had allowed 42 earned runs during the first inning in 64 games played thus far, for a 5.73 first inning ERA)

But starting pitching became a major concern as the Blue Jays hit five home runs the next day. Then the Jays next broke the record for most homers ever hit by an opponent in a game at Fenway Park with eight, the day after that. In that game both Marwin Gonzalez and Christian Arroyo each pitched an inning, for the first time in their careers, and were the Sox most effective pitchers.

Meanwhile MLB acknowledged that foreign substances, like "Spider Tack" have changed the game and banned them all, with 10-game penalties for pitchers found using them.

Spin rates of off-speed curveballs and sliders dropped to their lowest levels of the season after the story. Red Sox starters posted a 9.23 ERA (40 earned runs in 39 innings) in their past nine games.

Nathan Eovaldi righted the ship against the Jays, throwing 6 2/3 shutout innings and allowing three hits in the final game on June 14th. The Sox were ahead 1-0 in the ninth when Vlad Guererro Jr launched a massive homer to tie things up with two outs. But in the bottom of the ninth, with Alex Verdugo and J.D. Martinez reaching on base hits, Rafael Devers provided another walk-off win, with a ball off the wall in left, giving the Sox a 2 to 1 thriller.

Off to Atlanta to meet the Braves for two games. In the first game the Sox jumped out to a five run lead, but the Braves chipped away and tied up the game. With the score knotted at 7-7 going into the eighth inning, with two runners on, Verdugo lofted a fly ball to center, that carried over the fence. The Sox won in a sloppily played game, 10 to 8.

In the second an final game, on June 16th, Christian Arroyo came off the bench, with the Red Sox down a run, and slammed a grandslam homer, giving the Sox another 10-8 win. Arroyo had hit four homers since the start of June, all of which had either tied the game or put the Red Sox ahead.

Bobby Dalbec doubled, tripled and homered in leading the Sox to a 7-1 win over the Royals in KC on June 19th. In the game J.D. Martinez clubbed is 100th homer as a member of the Sox.

The Sox traveled down to Tampa Bay for an early season first place showdown. The Sox ground out a tough 9-5 extra inning victory on June 22nd. Despite early inning errors and outs on the bases in the late innings, the Sox scored four runs in the 11th inning led by Rafael Devers, who  slashed a two-run double into the right field corner to put the Sox ahead to stay.

DUSTIN PEDROIA'S FAREWELL

In the third game, Nick Pivetta flirted with history as he carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning in a 0-0 standoff, before being lifted after 100 pitches. The Sox bullpen took over and in the end, the Rays won the game 1-0, on a walk-off wild pitch from Matt Barnes in the ninth inning.

A packed Fenway crowd on "Dustin Pedroia Night" saw the Sox beat the Yankees, in the first game of a weekend series at Fenway, 5 to 3 on June 25th. Other than celebrating the career of "Pedey", the biggest roar of the night came when Hunter Renfroe cut down Gio Urshela on a strike to the plate from right field. It was his sixth assist in his last 21 games.

The Sox scratched and clawed out a 4-2 win against the Yankees in the next game. Nate Eovaldi dominated his former team, pitching 7 2/3 shutout innings.

The Sox swept the Yankees for the second time in three weeks, by winning the weekend finale, 9 to 2. Rafael Devers deposited 100 mph fastball into the bleachers, and Eduardo Rodriguez limited the Yanks to two runs over six innings.

Former Yankee pitchers Garret Whitlock (1.49 ERA) and Adam Ottavino (2.81 ERA) came out of the bullpen in all three games and limited their former team to just one run on four hits. They struck out seven in six innings of work.

Hunter Renfroe led the Sox to come from behind and beat the Kansas City Royals, 6 to 5 on June 28th. Renfroe blasted two home runs (#10 and #11) in pacing the team in their 26th come-from-behind victory.

When the Sox (50-31) beat the Royals, 6-2 on June 30th, it marked the 15th time they had won 50 games at the midway point of their season. The last two times happened in the World Championship seasons of 2007 and 2018.

A 15-1 sweep of the four-game series with the Kansas City Royals saw the Sox increase their AL East lead to 3 1/2 games. Nathan Eovaldi pitched seven shutout innings, while Rafael Devers and Danny Santana each knocked out 5-RBIs.

Eduardo Rodriguez pitched one-hit ball for six innings in Oakland but the A's took the game into extra innings. The Sox went up 3-2 in the tenth. The game was saved by a strike thrown to home by Kike Hernandez from center field with the tying run tagged out at home in the bottom of the tenth.

J.D. MARTINEZ

After losing a 12 inning heart-breaker in the second game, Nick Pivetta again spun a beauty in beating the A's in the third game on July 4th. Pivetta pitched seven shut-out innings, striking out 10 batters.

The Red Sox outfield defense was on display in Anaheim against the Angels on July 5th. Kike Hernandez went over the fence to rob a home run and later threw out a baserunner trying to stretch a single into a double. Meanwhile Danny Santana threw out a runner out at the plate, trying to score. They were the MLB-leading 28th outfield assists by the Sox. Rafael Devers also homered and had three hits and three RBIs, pacing the Sox to the 5-4 win.

When the Sox returned home to face the Phillies at Fenway, J.D. Martinez led his team to an 11-5 drubbing of the Philadelphia Phillies on July 9th. He hammered a three-run homer into the bullpen and followed it with an RBI double to keep a 26 game hitting streak alive. In his last 11 games, Martinez was 12-for-38, with 4 homers, three doubles and a triple.

The Sox lost four of the last five games they played going into the All Star break. They were 1 1/2 games ahead of the Rays in the A.L. East race.

Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts became the first Red Sox duo to be named American League All Star starters on the left side of the infield. Other AL All star members named were J.D. Martinez, Nathan Eovaldi and Matt Barnes. The American League won 3 to 2 with Devers doubling and Bogaerts knocking out two hits one for an RBI.

KIKE HERNANDEZ

Eduardo Rodriguez cruised to a 4-0 shutout of the Yankees in New York in the game after the break. He allowed just two hits and struck out eight. But unfortunately the Sox lost 2-of-3 in New York, as their bats went silent with runners in scoring position, scoring only two runs in the last two games there.

But in Buffalo, against the Blue Jays on July 19th, the Sox slugged six home runs and routed Toronto, 13-4. The Sox belted six homers in the game. Kike Hernandez had two of them, while Hunter Renfroe connected for a grandslam. Rookie Jarren Duran lofted his first major league round-tripper in the eight-run Sox first inning. The next game five home runs came off Sox bats and the won again, 7 to 4.

Against the Yankees at Fenway on July 22nd, the Sox pulled off one of the most  exciting wins of the season. Kike Hernandez tied the game in the ninth inning, with a two-out, two-run double. Then the Yanks went up one in the tenth on a ground ball out, before gift wrapping the game for the Sox in the bottom of the inning. Four Yankee wild pitches and a sacrifice fly gave the Red Sox a 5-4 win.

Then after squandering a 3-0 lead and losing 4 to 3 in the next game, the Sox returned the favor by beating the Yankees 5 to 4 in the final game on July 25th. Yanks pitcher Domingo German had a no-hitter going for seven innings, leading 4-0. He and the Yankees bullpen gave up five straight hits to Sox batters in the eighth inning, good for five runs. The Sox miraculous comeback gave them the win, 5 to 4, taking 3-of-4 in the weekend series.

The next day, Alex Verdugo blasted an eight inning two-run homer that brought the Sox back from behind once again. This time it was against the Toronto Blue Jays in a game the Sox won 5 to 4. It was the 33rd come-from-behind win for the Sox this season.

Jarren Duran electrified the crowd in the second game of a doubleheader split with the Blue Jays on July 28th. He lined a a ball to center field and didn't stop running. The rookie speedster completed the circuit and slid into home for an apparent inside-the-park homer. However the fact the Jays centerfielder bobbled the ball, meant he was given a triple with an error.

As the trading deadline approached, the Sox made a major move that would pay them great dividends. They traded a minor league prospect to the Washington Nats, for slugger Kyle Schwarber. Also picked up were pitchers Hansel Robles from the Twins and Austin Davis, traded from Pittsburgh for Michael Chavis.

In a battle for first place, the Sox were swept by the Rays in Tampa, falling to 1 1/2 games behind them, to finish July and start August. The Sox were 3-for-18 with runners in scoring position and left 26 men on base during the three games they lost.

They then lost 2 of 3 in Detroit and 3 of 4 in Toronto, culminating a 2-8 road trip and falling back to four games behind the Tampa Bay Rays, who they would meet at Fenway for a showdown.

BOBBY DALBEC

In the first game, the Sox gave a 4-1 lead and lost the game 8 to 4. Closer Matt Barnes had blown his last three of his last four save opportunities, while Sox hitters again failed to bring in runners who were in scoring position. The Sox had now lost 10 of their last 12 games.

In the second game, on August 11th, Bobby Dalbec drove in five runs, reaching base five times. Xander Bogaerts and Hunter Renfroe each had four RBIs and the Sox exploded against the Rays, 20-8. J.D. Martinez had four hits and Bogaerts blasted a three-run homer. Nathan Eovaldi pitched seven innings giving up just one run and three hits, striking out ten of the Rays.

But the Rays bounced back and beat the Sox 8 to 1, in the rubber game of the series. The Sox had now lost seven of their last eight match-ups with the first place Rays and were five games behind them in the AL East.

CHRIS SALE

The Sox' apparent nose dive continued, however, by losing three games in New York, scoring only five runs. They found themselves in third place behind the Yankees and Rays, six games out.

Chris Sale returned to the Red Sox lineup on August 14th, after not having pitched for two years, following Tommy John surgery. He was spectacular in striking on eight batters as the Sox beat the Orioles 16-2. But it was also Bobby Dalbec's game, as he belted out two homers. Dalbec was batting .391 with three homers, two doubles and a triple in his last 23 at bats. The Sox swept the Orioles and moved to within three games of Tampa Bay.

Chris Sale was very good again in his second start. beating the Texas Rangers, 6-0 at Fenway Park on August 20th. Then on August 23rd, after blowing a two run lead in the ninth inning, the Sox rallied to beat the Rangers in the 11th inning, 8 to 4. It was Travis Shaw, returning to the Sox, slugging a grandslam walk-off homer, that carried the day.

Against the Twins on August 24th at Fenway, the Sox outlasted Minnesota, 11 to 9. Hunter Renfroe's two home runs provided the difference, as the shaky Sox bullpen, one again, tried to give back the lead.

It was Chris Sale's third start and he cruised to a 12-2 win over the Twins on August 26th. It included an "immaculate" third inning, as he struck out three batters on just nine pitches. It was the third time Sale pitched an "immaculate" inning. The only other pitcher to accomplish that feat, was Sandy Koufax. Bobby Dalbec continued his August hot streak, going 3-for-4 and belting out two home runs.

In Cleveland on August 27th, Jonathan Arauz was called up from the WooSox and belted a clutch three run homer in the eighth inning to bring the Sox from behind and win 4 to 3. The next day, it was J.D. Martinez who supplied a 10th inning three run homer, leading the Sox to another victory.

After losing seven players off the roster, who tested positive for COVID, the Sox lost two straight games to the first place Rays, but rallied on September 1st. Christian Vazquez got three hits, including a game-tying home run. Then Jarren Duran brought home the game winner, giving the Sox a 3-2 win in Tampa.

HUNTER RENFROE

Great pitching highlighted the final game in Tampa, as Eduardo Rodriguez and Garrett Richards combined on a five-hitter, to beat the Rays, 4-0. The Sox left town eight games behind the Rays for the AL East top spot.

Back at Fenway on September 3rd, Kyle Schwarber hit a lead-off homer in the first inning, then delivered a tiebreaking. two-run double in the seventh, that sent the Sox over the Indians, 8 to 5. The next day, Alex Verdugo lined a bases-loaded double in the bottom of the ninth, for a 4-3 Sox victory.

On September 6th, the Sox signed their former shortstop, Jose Iglesias to fill in for Christian Arroyo, who was on the COVID DL.

Against Tampa Bay at Fenway, the Sox held a 7-1 lead, but four Boston errors helped the Rays come back to win 11-10 in 10 innings, on September 6th. The next game was a 12-7 Rays' blowout of the Sox. But in the final game, on September 8th, Hunter Renfroe was the story. His 8th inning home run put the Sox up 2 to 1. Then in the 9th inning, Renfroe threw out Joey Wendle trying to advance to third after a double to right, to end the game. It was his MLB-leading 16th outfield assist.

Travis Shaw was the hero on September 11th. In Chicago the Red Sox overcame an early White Sox lead, scoring seven runs in the second inning, capped by Shaw's three-run homer. But their inconsistent bullpen and some shoddy defense gave it all back. Then in the 10th inning, Shaw broke an 8-8 tie with an RBI single and the Red Sox held on to win, 9 to 8.

The Sox next took 2-of-3 in Seattle. Kyle Schwarber's costly error cost the Sox their only loss, but clutch hits in the other two games were instrumental in the Sox wins. The bullpen came up big during the six game road trip, with a miniscule 0.68 ERA over 26 1/3 innings.

They were 3-3 on the road trip with 12 players and two staffers being on and off the COVID list. The Sox returned home in a virtual tie with the Yankees and Blue Jays for the two American League wild card slots.

Xander Bogaerts had three hits, homered and drove in four runs, to lead the Sox to a 9-3 win over the Orioles on September 19th. Bogaerts, who was one of the Sox players on the COVID IL, has hit .367, going 11-for-30 since returning to the lineup.

Led by their bullpen, who over the last 35 2/3 inning pitched, posting a 0.50 ERA, the Sox went on to sweep three games from Baltimore.

The Sox next hosted the New York Mets at Fenway for two games. Bogaerts was the first game's difference maker, as the Sox came up with a 6-3 win on September 22nd. Bogie continued to swing his hot bat getting two hits, including a homer good for four RBIs. Kyle Schwarber was 3-for-4 and slugged two homers in the next game, as the Sox pounded the Mets, 12-5.

The two wins gave the Sox a seven game winning streak, putting them six games behind the first place Rays, and in first position for the two AL Wild Card spots, two games ahead of the Yankees.

Those Yankees next came into Fenway and jumped on the Sox bullpen who couldn't finds the strike zone. The Sox lost leads in two of the three games and were swept, falling into third place in the AL East and in the second wild card spot, one game behind New York.

Against the last place Baltimore Orioles, the Sox lost the first game of the three game set, but won the second game, 6-0 on September 29th. Nate Eovaldi threw six shutout innings and J.D. Martinez got three hits including a double and a homer. The Sox ended up losing two-of-three in Baltimore, and five of their last six, but were still in the second wild card slot, two games behind the Yankees and now tied with the Seattle Mariners, heading into the final weekend.

In Washington Eduardo Rodriguez pitched five innings of shutout ball, while Hunter Renfroe and Bobby Dalbec hit back to back homers on October 1st. The big play came with J.D. Martinez, playing right field, throwing out a runner at third, as the Sox beat the Nats 4 to 2.

NATE EOVALDI

Tanner Houck pitched five perfect innings with eight strikeouts in the second game and the Sox scored four runs in the ninth inning, sparked by a two-out triple by Christian Vazquez, to beat the Nats, 5 to 3.

The Red Sox came back from a 5-1 deficit in the final game of the season, on October 3rd, thanks to a two-run double by Alex Verdugo in the seventh inning that tied the game. Then Rafael Devers slugged his second homer of the day in the ninth inning to give the Sox a 7-5 victory.

As a result of winning their last three games, the Red Sox finished the season holding the #1 Wild Card spot in the American League, and faced the Yankees, who finished as the #2 Wild Card team.

Xander Bogaerts and Kyle Schwarber got to Yankee ace, Gerrit Cole quickly with home runs and never looked back, as the Sox defeated the Yankees, 6 to 2, in the American League Wild Card Playoff Game on October 5th at Fenway Park. Nate Eovaldi pitched spectacularly for 5 1/3 innings, allowing four hits and striking out eight.

The Tampa Bay Rays ran over the Red Sox in the first game of the ALDS in Game #1, beating them 5-0. Rays left fielder, Randy Arozarena became the first player in playoff history to steal home and hit a home run in the same game.

The next night the Red Sox bats pounded out five home runs, a club postseason record, that led to a 14-6 victory over the Rays in Game #2 of the ALDS. Kike Hernandez led the onslaught, with a 5-for-5 night. His four extra-base hits tied a postseason mark.

Game #3 saw the Sox jump out to a 4 to 2 lead, sparked by Kike, who homered and established a MLB record when he whacked out eight postseason hits over the past two games. But the Rays tied up the game and took it into extra innings. Nick Pivetta stepped up and pitched four gutsy innings and got the 6 to 4 win when Christian Vazquez slugged a walk-off two-run homer in the 13th inning.

The Sox had a 5-0 lead on the Rays that disappeared in Game #4. Then with the game tied, no outs and a runner on second, Garrett Whitlock came in and retired three straight batters to put out the fire. In the bottom of the ninth, with runners on second and third, Kike Hernandez lofted a fly to center that was deep enough to score the runner from third. The Sox won the game 6 to 5 and advanced the the American League Championship Series.

Against the Houston Astros in Game #1 of the ALCS, the Red Sox couldn't take advantage of their situations and lost the game, 5 to 4. They went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. Chris Sale lasted only 2 2/3 innings, but Kike Hernandez continued to be hot with two home runs.

For the first time in major league history the Sox unloaded two grandslam homers in a postseason game. The first one came off the bat of J.D. Martinez in the first inning of Game #2 and then it was Rafael Devers' turn in the second inning. Then Kike homered to make the final score 9 to 5.

Game #3 came to Fenway Park and the Sox kept on rolling as they slugged their way to a 12-3 victory. Another grandslam was launched, this time by Kyle Schwarber in the six-run second inning. In doing so, the Sox became the first team in history to bang out three grandslams in a postseason series. Christian Arroyo, J.D. Martinez and Rafael Devers also hit round-trippers.

But after scoring 21 runs and hitting three grandslams, the Red Sox scored just three runs in the final three games while the Astros' offense came alive.

Xander Bogaerts put the Sox out front 2-1 in Game #4, blasting the Sox 21st postseason homer, but the bats went cold when it mattered. Meanwhile, the Astros bounced back and beat the Red Sox, 9 to 2. The momentum the Astros gained over the Red Sox in the last game continued into Game #5. Sox bats again were silent and they couldn't capitalize on a strong performance of Chris Sale. Houston starter, Framber Valdez allowed the Sox just three hits, two by Rafael Devers including a home run, in his eight strong innings, winning 9 to 1. Game #6 was the end of the line for the Red Sox, as they were sent packing by the Astros, 5 to 0.

There was no parade, but the 2021 Red Sox left their fans with many satisfying moments to remember them by. They never quit, but rarely made it easy on themselves, making the most fundamental of mistakes and defensive miscues much too often. At times the team looked invincible, but that was followed by too many stretches of real frustration. But they exceeded all expectations and were fun to follow.