2022 BOSTON RED SOX ...
YOU CAN'T WIN THE PENNANT IN APRIL, BUT YOU CAN LOSE IT ...

Major League Baseball owners locked out their players over economic issues for 99 days until March 11th to start 2022. Previous to that, the Red Sox had signed free agent pitcher Michael Wacha to a one-year contract in November. On December 1st, the Sox traded Hunter Renfroe to the Milwaukee Brewers, bringing back Jackie Bradley Jr, along with minor league infielders David Hamilton and Alex Binelas. Free agent Rob Refsnyder signed a one year deal on December 21st.

Free Agent, James Paxton, was also signed along with former Sox pitcher Rich Hill, each to a one year deal.  Paxton, however, was recovering from "Tommy John" surgery and was not available until sometime later in the season it was hoped. Also recovering from "Tommy John" surgery, Chris Sale started the season on the DL, when he injured his ribs while working out before the lock-out was resolved.

TREVOR STORY

After the lock out, relief pitchers Jake Diekman and Matt Strahm signed with the Sox. Then the big signing came on March 19th, as Colorado Rockies star shortstop, Trevor Story, came to the Red Sox and signed a six-year deal. Story was converted to second base by the Sox. Under the tutelage of Dustin Pedroia in spring training, who also made the switch, Story easily made the transition.

The Sox started the season by losing two-of-three at Yankee Stadium. They jumped out to a lead in all three games. They couldn't hold that lead each time, but thanks to Bobby Dalbec's homer, on April 10th, they won the finale, 4 to 3. At Comerica Park, the Sox bats came alive, winning 2-of-3 from the Tigers and ending the road trip with a 3-3 record.

The Sox moved to Fenway to start their home season and split four with the Minnesota Twins. Two great pitching performances by Tanner Houck and Garrett Whitlock highlighted the two Sox victories, where the Twins scored only one run in the two middle games.

Next in town were the AL East rival Toronto Blue Jays. In the first game on April 19th, Connor Wong had to be brought up from Worcester to catch, when both catchers Christian Vazquez and Kevin Plawecki caught COVID. Wong didn't disappoint, bringing home the winning run with a sac fly in the 2-1 Sox victory.

But the Sox bats were silent for the next two games, finally scoring two runs in the ninth inning of the finale.  They ended they homestand winning three and losing four.

In Tampa, the Sox first two games were stressful to say the least. While the offense still wasted scoring opportunities, Michael Wacha held the Rays in check during the first game on Mays 22nd. Jake Diekman came in to pitch the ninth inning and walked the bases loaded with the Sox up 4-3. Matt Barnes was rushed in and got the save however, and the Sox were up one game. The second game was a different story as the Sox batters were no-hit for nine innings with the Rays themselves getting only two hits in a no score tie game that went to the tenth. Thanks to Bobby Dalbec's triple the Sox went up 2-0, only to see the Rays come back in the bottom of the 10th, as Kevin Kiermaier slugged a walk-off homer to bury the Sox comeback, 3-2. The final game was an easy win for the Rays because the Sox bats fell asleep again.

he Toronto Blue Jays took three of the four games of their series in Canada, as the Sox again self-destructed after going into the 9th inning on April 26th with a 3-run lead only to have the Jays tie the game up and walk it off in the 10th.

RAFAEL DEVERS

In Baltimore things got worse for the Red Sox, losing 2-of-3. After barely hanging on to win the first game, the Sox jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead in the second game and then stopped hitting. The O's took them to the 10th and won it on a walk-off throwing error. They rolled over the Sox in the finale as things got so bad, that catcher, Kevin Plawecki pitched the final inning.

One bright spot emerged for the Sox. Xander Bogaerts (.397 BA) knocked out four hits on April 27th. In his last 13 games, he had gone 24-for-51 with a homer, six doubles and six games of three or more hits.

But as a team, the Sox went six straight games without hitting a home run and hit just two homers in their previous 11 games. They scored 31 runs over 10 games (3.1 runs per game). They ranked 24th in OPS (.622), 25th in homers (13), 24th in runs scored (81) and 20th in batting average (.229BA). Five of the Sox starters were batting under the Mendoza line of .200 or less. The Sox finished the road trip with a 3-7 record, failing to capitalize on their divisional opponents and were 7 1/2  games out to start the month of May.

Coming back to Fenway didn't help the Red Sox, losing 2-of-3 to the California Angels. In the final game on May 6th they got the full Shohei Ohtani experience. They had no answer for the reigning AL MVP. They could only muster two hits against him, who struck out 11 in seven innings. He got an incredible 29 swings-and-misses, with 99 pitches thrown for 81 strikes, striking out Trevor Story four times. At the plate, he went 2-for-4 with an RBI, beating the Sox, 8-0. He lined a  fastball off the Green Monster so hard, he knocked his own number off the wall. The Red Sox now had lost five consecutive series.

The Red Sox were losing games at a rapid pace, but don't blame the starting pitching, who ranked second in the American League in ERA while the relievers ranked 14th in the American League. Nathan Eovaldi (.251 ERA), Michael Wacha (1.38 ERA), Rich Hill (3.71 ERA) and Garrett Whitlock (1.25 ERA) had all been outstanding, yet they were consistently pulled after facing the opponent's batting order twice, usually in the 5th inning. Then the relievers blew many of those games.

More of the same when the Chicago White Sox came to town. A wasted great start by Nick Pivetta, a blown save in the bottom of the ninth inning and lack of hitting when the scoring opportunities presented a chance. The result was three straight losses that dropped the Sox into last place.

NICK PIVETTA

The road trip to Atlanta and Texas was somewhat successful, as the Sox started hitting like they should, winning 3-of-5 games and scoring 31 runs. Rafael Devers went 9-for-23 and J.D. Martinez was 9-for-20 with a 16 game hitting streak. And still, they remained in last place, 12 games out.

The Houston Astros held one of the best records so far in the early season and came to Fenway, losing 2-of-3 to the Sox. The hitters started hitting the way they should and the first game on May 16th was a thriller. The Sox offense was shut down early, but they put some runs on the board in the middle innings while Houston was staying right with them run for run. It was the long ball for Trevor Story hitting his first Fenway homer of his Red Sox career, that gave the Sox a 6-3 win.

Nick Pivetta was the story in the third game, tossing a complete game two-hitter, winning 5-1 on May 18th.. After a leadoff homer he put down 27 of the next 28 batters, and retired 18 straight at one point. It was the first complete fame thrown by a Sox pitcher since 2019. In his last three outings, Pivetta give up just two runs in 22 innings.

Trevor Story supplied the fireworks against Seattle on May 19th, belting out three home runs, four hits good for five runs, seven RBIs and stealing a base. He entered the game batting .203 and ended the game with a .230BA. But he wasn't done. The next night his grandslam into the Monster Seats and into the hands of former Sox left fielder, Jonny Gomes, gave the Sox a 7-3 win over the Mariners.

On May 21st, down 5-0, Rafael Devers hit two homers, Christian Vázquez had a tiebreaking single in the eighth inning and Sox bullpen held the Mariners scoreless for six innings, lifting the Red Sox to a 6-5 victory.

The Sox finished their sweep of the Mariners on May 22nd. Franchy Cordero's grandslam homer in the 10th inning walked off an 8-4 victory. It was the Sox 5th straight win and 8th of their last ten games. But they were still 10 games behind.

The Sox offense continued their assault on pitching, this time in Chicago, where they piled up 16 runs in the first five innings on May 24th, winning 16-3. It was their sixth straight win, where they averaged nine runs per game and a .272 team batting average during the streak. Nick Pivetta won again, and was 3-0 with a 1.61 ERA over his last four starts.

Two days later, the Sox continued their offensive assault and put 16 more runs on the board, winning 16-7. Trevor Story homered again, recording 21 RBIs over his last seven games, the most since any Red Sox player over a seven game span since 1920. Story won Player-of-the-Week honors to nobody's surprise, with a three home run game, followed up by a grandslam. He blasted nine home runs over the past 14 games.

The Sox also were the hottest team in the AL East with 11 wins in their last 15 games. And J.D. Martinez was the hottest in all of baseball, going 9-for-13 in Chicago and improving to the tune of a .380 BA, (.443 in the month of May), best in the majors.

Nathan Eovaldi pitched the first complete game of his career on May 28th, beating Baltimore at Fenway, 5-to-3. Rafael Devers (.354 BA) was the offensive star, with a 4-for-5 day.  But the Sox lost three of the five games played with the Orioles and hadn't taken a series from an AL East opponent thus far this season.

In spite of a hot few weeks, the team was still 11 games behind in 4th place. The glaring issue was still the unreliable bullpen. The Red Sox had been tied or ahead in the eighth inning, eight times this year thus far, and lost. They also did not have a single comeback win, when losing after the sixth inning and were 8-15 in games decided by 1 or 2 runs (28th of 30 in MLB).

The Red Sox swept the Oakland A's to start a west coast road trip, outscoring them 20-5. The story for the Sox was their starting pitching. Nathan Eovaldi won the first game, 7-2. He gave up four hits in his six innings. On June 3rd, Xander Bogaerts broke the Red Sox record for most games played at shortstop (1094), beating Everett Scott's mark.

The second game was won by Nick Pivetta on June 4th, pitching seven innings and giving up two hits and no runs. In his last five starts, he went 4-0, giving up just six runs in 34 innings with a 1.59 ERA. Rich Hill finished the sweep in the third game, giving up one run and three hits in six innings on June 5th.

Another outstanding game for a Red Sox starting pitcher happened on June 6th. This time Michael Wacha (1.99 ERA) went all the way, to shutout the Angels in Anaheim, on three hits, winning 1-0. The next night they won a tense battle that the sloppy Angels, who had lost 13 straight, seemed to give them. The Sox came from behind and won 6-5.  It was the first time they won this season when trailing after six innings.

Bobby Dalbec returned home to Seattle and had six RBIs in the last fifteen games. He homered on July 10th and then knocked out a game-tying blast in the ninth inning the next day. But the Mariners came back to win that game in the bottom half of the ninth, 7 to 6. It made nine times the Sox bullpen had lost the game, when leading after the eighth inning this season. The Sox returned to Fenway however after a very successful 8-2 west coast trip.

The Sox returned to Fenway to face the Oakland Athletics. After Pivetta easily won the first game, the Sox bats exploded in the second game the next day, on June 15th. Led by Xander Bogaerts who was 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles and Alex Verdugo who brought home four runs, the Sox romped, 10-to-1.

The St. Louis Cardinals then came to Fenway and split a four game series with the Sox. The Cardinals jumped on the Sox bullpen to come close in the second game on June 18th. Up 6 to 1, the Sox prevailed 6-5, but the bullpen gave up four runs in the ninth inning. In the fourth game, on June19th, Christian Vazquez's three run homer gave the Sox another 6-1 lead, but the bullpen again gave back three ninth inning runs. The Six hung on to win it 6-4.

The Detroit Tigers came in and the Sox jumped on them. Jarren Duran (.310 BA) had been brought up to fill in for injured Kiki Hernandez, and brought with him extreme speed from the lead-off spot. John Schreiber evolved into a positive force in the Sox bullpen and owned a 0.84 ERA in 12 relief appearances.

On June 21st, Trevor Story carried the Sox over the Tigers, 5 to 4. His three run homer was instrumental in the victory and gave him 48 RBIs. But it was his outstanding defense at second base, making clutch acrobatic plays and getting to everything hit near him.

Michael Wacha (6-1, 2.34 ERA) allowed the Tigers just five hits in the series finale, winning 6 to 2, and sweeping the series. The team 2.58 ERA over the last twenty games, is the lowest since 2001.

The Red Sox embarked on the tougher part of the schedule by playing teams with winning records, starting in Cleveland. The first game of the series on June 24th was another great pitching effort by Nick Pivetta, who was 8-1 with a 1.85 ERA over his last 10 starts. Backed by homers by Rafael Devers and Christian Arroyo (3-for-4, 3 RBIs), the Sox beat the Guardians, 6 to 3.

Jarren Duran had the best game of his professional career on June 25th, in the second game of the series. He went 4-for-5 with a double, and stole two bases in the Sox 4-2 win at Cleveland.

While sweeping Cleveland, the Sox had 15 hits in the third game and drew 11 walks. Winning 8-3, they had won 11 of their last 13 games. and moved into second place in the AL East. In the three game series, Duran batted .400, and Trevor Story reached 500 career RBIs.

Without the newly appointed closer Tanner Houck, and Jarren Duran, both who could not get into Canada because they did not elect to get the COVID vaccinations, the Sox went up to Toronto. They lost 2-of-3 games in the battle for second place in the AL East. The bullpen blew a one-run lead in the ninth inning of the second game. Franchy Cordero recorded four hits in the series finale, bunting against the shift for a base hit, stealing second, and going to third on a wild throw to set up a smartly earned first run, in the 6-5 victory on June 29th.

Alex Verdugo was the Sox hitting star in the series. He finished the month of June batting .337 for the month, with three home runs and 19 RBIs.

Since May 10th, the Sox were 33-14 and for only the fifth time this century, since 2000, the Red Sox have won  20+ games in a calendar month. But they still lost two games in the AL East standings to the New York Yankees. The Sox finished the month 13 games behind New York in 2nd place.

With three of their veteran starting pitcher injured, the Sox lost 2-of-3 to the Cubs in Chicago and then returned home to face the Rays and Yankees. Against the Rays, the Sox again lost 2 of 3.

The first place Yankees next came to town. In the first game, on July 7th, Rafael Devers blasted two home runs that accounted by five runs. But a dropped pop fly in the infield, allowed the Yankees to score the run that made the difference, 6 to 5, New York.

The Sox were helpless in the next game as the Yankees slugged them into submission, 12-5. Perhaps the Sox low point came when Christian Arroyo stood in right field helplessly looking for a pop fly he couldn't find in the twilight. The ball gently dropped behind him and except for a great throw to the plate, Matt Carpenter might have had an inside-the-park home run.

The third game, on July 9th, was one of the most exciting games of the season. The Red Sox earned a walk-off win in extra innings against, securing a 6 to 5 result. Alex Verdugo was the one who came through for the Sox. He stroked an RBI single in the eighth inning that tied the game at 3-3, and followed it up with an 2-RBI single to win the game in the 10th inning. It was the Sox first win of the season when trailing after seven innings.

The Sox roared from behind in the series finale to gain a split of the four games. The Sox only healthy starter, Nick Pivetta got hit hard by New York and the Sox found themselves in a 6-2 hole after three innings. But they scored nine unanswered runs from the third inning to the seventh. Trevor Story's bases loaded double off the wall in seventh was the hit that put the game away, as the Sox turned the tables of the Yankees and beat them, 11 to 6.

Chris Sale made his first start of the season against the Rays on July 13th. He pitched five three-hit innings and left with a 2-0 lead. But stupid mental mistakes in the field and on the bases saw the Sox literally throw the lead away, losing 3 to 2. The Sox ended up losing all four games and headed to New York.

In the first game with Yankees in New York on July 15th, Tanner Houck literally tried to throw the game away when with runners on first and second, he threw the ball away on a force play at third, allowing the tying run to cross the plate in the ninth inning. But in the 11th inning, the Yankees gave the game back when Xander Bogaerts scored from third base on a wild pitch winning 5 to 4.

In the second game with the Yankees, Rafael Devers homered in his third consecutive game, to put the Sox ahead in the first inning, as he had done the night before. But the Yankees pummeled the hapless Sox in the last two games. Making matters even worse, Chris Sale was knocked out of the game in only his second start of the season. Aaron Hicks lined a baseball off the pinky finger of his pitching hand and fracturing it, in the very first inning of the finale.

The Red Sox limped into the All Star Break, out of contention in the AL wild card race, having lost 10 of their last 14 games against the Rays and Yankees.

All stars, Rafael Devers, Xander Bogaerts and J.D. Martinez represented the Sox at Dodger Stadium. Devers drew a walk against Clayton Kershaw and Martinez and Bogaerts both struck out in their only at bat.

Needing to get things back on track to start the second half, the Red Sox hit an all-time low by being humiliated by the Toronto Blue Jays 28-5, on July 22nd at Fenway. The writing was on the wall on a play in the third inning. With the bases loaded, Raimel Tapia lofted a fly ball at centerfielder Jarren Duran. Duran lost the ball and it landed 50 ft behind him on the warning track, as Tapia sprinted around the bases for an inside-the-park grandslam. Then in the 5th inning a pop up landed safely on the ground between Rafael Devers and Kevin Plawecki half way between the pitcher's mound and home plate, giving the Jays another run.

The 28 runs allowed, broke a Sox franchise record. Their 55-8 run difference by the Sox opponents during their last three games, was the largest run differential (-47) in the majors over three games since 1900. The Red Sox fumbled and stumbled all over themselves losing the last two games, and were swept by the Blue Jays.

Meanwhile in Cooperstown, New York, David Ortiz awed the crowd and joined the other baseball immortals as he was inducted into the Hall of Fame on July 24th.

The Sox split with the Cleveland Guardians at Fenway, but fell into last place. They finished July with a 8-19 record for the month. Most glaring was the lack of production from the starting pitchers.

Only one pitcher won a game during July (1-13). That win came from Josh Winckowski on July 31st against the Brewers. In that game the Sox banged out four consecutive doubles in the fifth inning and two more in the sixth inning, winning 7 to 2. The Sox finished the month in last place, 3 1/2 games out of the wild card race.

On August 1st, catcher Christian Vazquez was traded to the Houston Astros and pitcher Jake Diekman was traded to the Chicago White Sox for catcher Reese McGuire. Tommy Pham was picked up from the Cincinnati Reds and firstbaseman Eric Hosmer was traded from the San Diego Padres. On August 3rd, Jackie Bradley Jr was released.

The Sox met the powerful Astros in Houston to start the month and got a great pitching performance from Nathan Eovaldi, winning 3 to 2. Kutter Crawford pitched another gem in the next game, winning 2 to 1, with a strong relief job from closer Tanner Houck.

In Kansas City on August 5th, Xander Bogaerts had four hits, Alex Verdugo had three hits and doubled twice, and the Red Sox beat the Royals, 7 to 4. Josh Winckowski allowed one run on five hits over five innings. But the Sox couldn't take advantage of a poor team as inconsistent pitching, defensive mistakes and untimely hitting allowed the Royals to take three of the four games played.

The low point was when centerfielder Jarren Duran misplayed a pair of fly balls in the final game and engaged the hecklers in the left field stands. Then pitcher Darwinzon Hernandez couldn't find the plate and walked four batters, throwing just seven strikes in 23 pitches.

Eric Hosmer made his presence known against the Orioles at Fenway on August 11th. His RBI double off the center field wall broke a 3-3 tie and gave the Sox a 4-3 victory.

TOMMY PHAM

The Sox came from behind scoring one run to tie the game in the ninth inning and a walk-off run in the tenth, to beat the Yankees 3-2, on August 12th. Garrett Whitlock pitched the last two innings and retired six of the seven Yankee batters that he faced. J.D. Martinez got three hits and drove in two of the runs, including the tying run. Tommy Pham's liner down the third base line scored Christian Arroyo with the game winner. In his first 10 games with the Red Sox, Pham had a least one hit in eight of them, including three home runs.

Two nights later, Pham and Rafael Devers combined for five of the Sox six hits, and Michael Wacha (7-1) returned from the DL and allowed just two hits, through seven shutout innings, as the Red Sox again beat the Yankees, 3 to 0. Pham was 3 for 4 with a double and scored two runs, while Devers hit a two-run homer as part of his 2 for 4 night. The Sox took 2-of-3 from the Yanks, winning their first series of the year against an AL East opponent, but the Sox stood 4 1/2 games out of the American League playoffs.

CHRISTIAN ARROYO

Alex Verdugo reached base five times with three hits and two walks on August 17th, to lead the Sox in an 8-3 win in Pittsburgh. Along with Christian Arroyo, who had three hits in five times up. The two accounted for half of the Sox 12 hits.

The Sox lost the next game in a 15-10 slugfest in Baltimore, but Arroyo was 3-for-5 and scored two runs. The Sox bounced back the following night, beating the Orioles 4 to 3 on August 20th. Arroyo delivered the game winning hit in the top of the ninth inning with a double, finishing the game going 3-for-5 again.

The Blue Jays beat the Sox three straight when they returned to Boston. Red Sox batters were 3-20 with a runner in scoring position and left 12 men on base. The Sox ended the matchup against the Jays at Fenway, winning only one of the nine games they played. However catcher Reese McGuire, who went in to pitch in the first game and threw a perfect inning, was 2-for-4 in the second game and 3-for-4 in the finale.

RICH HILL

Rich Hill pitched a wonderful memorable game on August 27th against the Tampa Bay Rays, winning 5 to 1. He worked quickly, changed speeds, moved the ball in-and-out and up-and-down to perfection, keeping Rays batters off balance on almost every pitch. In seven innings, he retired 21 of the 25 batters he faced, striking out eleven and walking just one. 71 of his 95 pitches were strikes.

After a dismal display for the month of August, where the Red Sox continued to have mental lapses, played sloppy defense and  had poor pitching performances, they came alive on the final day against the Twins in Minnesota. Michael Wacha won his 10th game of the season, 6 to 5.

Although Xander Bogaerts continued to hit for average, both he and J.D. Martinez had shown an uncharacteristic lack of power. Bogaerts hit a line drive into the left field stands for a grandslam homer in the third inning; only his 12th homer of the season. Martinez followed him with a back-to-back homer; only his 11th of the season.

The Sox were a disappointing 12-16 in August and sat eight games out of making a wild card spot in the post season, with four teams to climb past to get there.

But September started with a bright note as the Sox staged a late-inning rally, that erased a five-run lead by the Texas Rangers. On September 1st, led by Rafael Devers, the Sox scored two runs in the eighth inning and four runs in the ninth to come from behind with a 9 to 8 win. Connor Wong blasted his first major league home run over the Green Monster and onto Lansdowne St, as the Red Sox blasted the Rangers 9-1, the next night.

The Sox took the next three games from the Rangers, sweeping the for game series. There were a couple first over the weekend. Top pitching prospect Brayan Bello won his first major league game on September 3rd, 5 to 3. The next day, top Sox prospect, Tristan Casas made his major league debut in the 5-2 Sox sweep.

Xander Bogaerts went 3-for-4 on September 4th with a double an two RBIs. On Monday in Tampa, he had two more hits. It temporarily gave him the top spot in the American League batting race with a .318 BA. He had been on a torrid run, batting .489 (24-for-49) with six doubles, two homers and 13 RBIs in his last 12 games. It was the 16th time this year he had three or more hits and had multiple hits in nine consecutive games, that tied a Red Sox club record.

In Baltimore on September 10th the Sox bats exploded. They racked up a season-high 21 hits and crushed the Orioles, 17-4. They immediately loaded the bases in the first inning and Rafael Devers  (3-for-5) drove them home with a grandslam homer. The Sox went an excellent 11 for 17 with runners in scoring position. Kiki Hernandez was 4-for-6. Meanwhile, the Sox best pitcher, Michael Wacha (11-1, 2.69 ERA) put together another quality start, throwing 62 pitches for strikes of the 80 pitches he made.

Xander Bogaerts (.316 BA) collected his 1400th career hit on September 18th, as the Sox blew out the Kansas City Royals at Fenway, 13 to 3. Since August 19th, Bogaerts has gone 34 for 90 (.378 BA) with five homers and seven doubles in 23 games. The Sox recorded 20 hits, with Rafael Devers chalking-up four of them, with three RBIs.

The Sox launched three homers in Cincinnati on September 20th. Rob Refsnyder, Rafael Devers and J.D. Martinez led the Sox to a 5-3 win. Martinez tripled and homered to help Brayan Bello win his second game.

All eyes were on Aaron Judge when the Red Sox visited Yankee Stadium for a four game set. Judge was sitting on 60 home runs and every swing produced a cresendo of oohs and aahs from the fans. But Sox pitchers kept his quest to tie Roger Maris' home run record from happening, while still allowing the Yankees to sweep all four games. Not to be overlooked was his race to also win the Triple Crown. Xander Bogaerts did his best to stay neck and neck withg Judge. Both players finished the series with .314 batting averages.

The Sox had lost six straight when they finally got into the win column by beating the Baltimore Orioles on September 27th, 13-9. The two teams combined for five home runs and 29 runs. Four of the Sox runs were given to them by free passes or sloppy Baltimore defense. Triston Casas was the Sox offensive star, going 3-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs and a run scored.

Rich Hill became the only Red Sox pitcher to make over 25 starts in a season at the age of 42 or older on September 28th. J.D. Martinez next belted a two-run eight inning homer on September 29th, to break a 3-3 tie with the Orioles.

Rich Hill pitched six innings of three-hit ball against the Rays at Fenway, winning 4 to 3 on October 3rd. Sox batters were able to string together eight hits and four runs in the come-from-behind win. Rafael Devers went 3-for-3 with a double and a sac fly, which put the Sox out front, after being behind, 3-0.

Xander Bogaerts fired a grandslam homer over the "Green Monster" and Nathan Eovaldi pitched five innings of two-hit baseball, to beat the Rays 5-0, in a rain-shortened game the next night. Meanwhile, in Arlington Texas, Aaron Judge belted his 62nd home run of the season, breaking Roger Maris record of 61 homers.

In the season finale on October 5th, J.D. Martinez had one of his best days of the year, knocking out two home runs that brought home four runs, as the Sox swept the Rays, 6 to 3.

For the 5th time in 11 years, the Red Sox finished in last place with a record of 78-84. They went from Cinderellas in 2021 to doormats in 2022. The Sox were awful against AL East opponents going 25-50 and 52-34 against everyone else. In June they played great ball, with a 20-6 record, but they collapsed and fell below .500 by the end of July.

Injuries to the starting pitching and a very poor bullpen ended up being a big part of the Red Sox failure. But the lack of ability to the big names to produce when needed, was a major part. The pre-season moves backfired on them. They traded Hunter Renfroe for Jackie Bradley, who didn't last the season. Kyle Schwarber was not re-signed at the end of last season and ended up having a monster year in Philadelphia. They traded for players that they didn't really need at the trade deadline insted getting pitching.

Chris Sale's return from "Tommy John" surgery was delayed by a rib cage injury. Then he suffered a fractured finger on his pitching hand in his second start back. James Paxton was lost to an injury before the season began and pitched as rehab start after "Tommy John" surgery in August. But he suffered a tear in his lat muscle and had to be shut down. Trevor Story started late, started rolling and then took a pitched ball off his hand. He came back and then injured his heel, having played in just 94 games. Nathan Eovaldi had right shoulder problems that put him on the DL in August. Garrett Whitlock went down and ended up having surgery on his hip as did Tanner Houck, who needed back surgery. Kiki Hernandez spent two months on the DL with a hip problem. And Rafael Devers, who had a good year, had some leg problems that affected his swing and kept him from being even better.

There was no doubt that Xander Bogaerts was the heart and soul of the 2022 Red Sox. The Sox shortstop put up one of the bast on-base percentage (.377) and batting average (.307 BA) of his career. Yet his power numbers were significantly lower than in previous seasons with only 15 homers. Competing for the American League batting title at the end of the season, Bogaerts had a tremendous 5.7 WAR with a sold 98% fielding percentage.

Despite having the best statistical season of any player on the team, Rafael Devers had a disappointing season. He showed improvement overall with everything considered, especially his defense at third base. He struck out only 114 times this year as compared to 143 last season, showing greater plate discipline. He blasted 27 home runs and 88 RBIs, with a .295 BA.

Alex Verdugo was a staple in the Sox lineup. He was fairly consistent at making contact and getting on base, showcased by his 74 RBIs along with a .280 BA. and his 39 doubles. He played all three outfield positions, with five assists and only one error.

J.D. Martinez's power declined at an alarming rate this season. Over 139 games he batted .274 with 16 home runs (the fewest he's hit in a season since 2013)

Trevor Story played in just 94 games. He missed three games early in the season with a stomach bug, then 38 games in the middle of the summer after being hit by a pitch that caused a fracture in his wrist. He finally missed the final 21 weeks with a heel contusion. It season wasn't bad however. He carried the team in spurts while playing strong defense at second base, batting .238 with 16 homers and 66 RBIs.

First base was a disaster for the Sox most of the year as neither Bobby Dalbec (.215 BA) nor Franchy Cordero could be relied upon. Dalbec struck out 33% of the time with 118 Ks. They picked up Eric Hosmer in hopes of settling the situation, but he was only able to play in 14 games. And they gave up up a good pitching prospect, Jay Groome, to get him. 

Finally, the Sox settled in brining up Triston Casas to be their fixture at first base as the season closed. Casas showed he knew his strike zone and worked counts, never afraid to take a free pass. He struggled at times at the plate (.197 BA), but also showed monsterous power, slugging homers to the far reaches of Fenway Park and also was solid defensively at first base with 176 put outs and 8 assists, with only one error.

The Sox traded Christian Vazquez at the trade deadline to make room for catchers Connor Wong and Reese McGuire. Vazquez, a well-respected veteran was batting .302 at the time, with seven homers,m but was a free agent at the end of the season. It turned out that Wong and McGuire were more than able replacements.

Reese McGuire batted .337 with 12 RBIs and three homes, five doubles and a triple. He also threw out 5-of-11 would-be base stealers. And he was 5-for-8 with a homer, as a pinch hitter. Wong was the WooSox MVP, batting .288 in Worcester with 15 homers, and .273 with the Red Sox.

The Red Sox pitching staff was close to the bottom in baseball. With a collective 4.54 ERA, they were tied for the sixth worse in the league. The  team ERA was significantly worse than the league average of 3.98 and they had the 12th lowest number of strikeots in the AL.. They gave up six or more runs 56 times and won only seven of those games. Because of injuries, at one point the Sox had to rely on four rookie pitchers in their starting rotation, the most since 1977. (Brayan Bello, Josh Winckowski, Kutter Crawford, and Connor Seabold) The Red Sox bullpen was also one of the worst in the majors with 28 blown saves in 65 save opportunities.

Michael Wacha (11-2) had the best season on the Red Sox staff. He was the most relliable starter and pitched like an all star throughout the entire season. If not for a brief time injured, he would have been in the conversation for the "Cy Youg" Award. He put up an 11-2 record with a 3.32 ERA with 104 strikeouts, while allowing just 47 earned runs.

Nick Pivetta (10-12) led the team in innings pitched (179.2), making 33 starts, but his 4.56 ERA was only 1% better than the league average. He showed little consistency throughout the season, especially in the second half. Against the A.L. East, he was terrible, as he posted a 6.72 ERA in 15 starts, with a 1-8 record.

42 year old, Rich Hill went 8-7 with a 4.27 ERA over 26 starts, second most on the team. He ended the season with a 2.35 ERA, including 30 strikeouts in 26 2/3 innings, over his final five starts.

John Schreiber came out of nowehere, the become the team's best relief pitcher with eight saves. He turned in key performances during tight ball games, with a 2.22 ERA. Both Garrett Whitlock (3.45 ERA) and Tanner Houck (3.15 ERA) had decent season coming out of the bullpen, but were both on the DL too often to make a difference.

Brayan Bello is considered the Red Sox future ace. He tossed 57 1/3 innings at the major league level, with a 2-8 record, a 4.71 ERA, and a 55-27 strikeout to walk ratio. In his first 26 inning of work, he had a 7.27 ERA and then held a 1.65 ERA over 27 1/3 innings in September and showed marked improvement with every inning pitched.

Nathan Eovaldi had a disappointing season, dealing with injuries that twice put him out of comission. Over 109 1/3 innings he posted a 3.87 ERA and had allowed the second most homers (21) of any season in his career. After tying for the league lead with 32 starts last season, he made only 20 this year.

Up in the booth, Dennis Eckersley retired as a Sox broadcaster after 20 years, to spend time with his family in California.