The Red Sox wasted no time reshaping their roster for the upcoming season. The first domino fell on December 10th, when free-agent reliever Aroldis Chapman was signed to anchor the bullpen as the team’s new closer. From there, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow got busy addressing the rotation. 

GARRETT CROCHET

A day later, on December 11th, the Sox pulled off a major trade with the Chicago White Sox, acquiring talented left-hander Garrett Crochet in exchange for a package of top prospects — Kyle Teel, Braden Montgomery, Chase Meidroth, and Wikelman González. That same day, the Sox also landed catcher Carlos Narváez from the New York Yankees in exchange for minor-league pitcher Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz and international signing bonus pool money. 

The pitching overhaul continued later in the month. On December 23rd, the club signed free-agent starter Patrick Sandoval to a two-year contract. Just five days later, they added another high-upside arm in Walker Buehler, who agreed to a one-year deal on December 28th. 

ALEX BREGMAN

The Sox remained active into the new year. On January 15th, the team acquired catcher Blake Sabol from the San Francisco Giants in exchange for additional international bonus pool space. Then came the splashiest move of the offseason: on February 12th, free-agent Alex Bregman, a Gold Glove third baseman and perennial All-Star with the Houston Astros, signed a three-year contract. Bregman was quickly installed as the team’s starting third baseman, pushing Rafael Devers into the designated hitter role — a shift that reportedly left Devers less than thrilled. 

The biggest storyline of spring training, however, revolved around second base. Early expectations were that either Bregman or Vaughn Grissom would handle the position, but rookie Kristian Campbell made the decision easy. After a standout camp, Campbell seized the job and entered the season as the team’s starting second baseman. 

The Red Sox opened the 2025 season on March 27th in Texas, and it was Wilyer Abreu who carried the day. The young outfielder went 3-for-3 with two home runs, including a decisive three-run blast in the ninth inning that broke a 2–2 tie and powered the Sox to a 5–3 Opening Day victory. But momentum vanished quickly, as the Sox dropped the next three games of the series, going just 6-for-41 with runners in scoring position and piling up 41 strikeouts over four games. Rafael Devers struggled more than anyone, striking out 12 times in the series. 

The Sox bounced back in Baltimore. On April 2nd, newly extended left-hander Garrett Crochet dominated, tossing a 3–0 shutout to secure his first win with the Sox. Devers, mired in an 0-for-21 slump, finally broke through with two hits. The Sox capped the series with an 8–4 win, sparked by Alex Bregman’s first-inning home run that gave the Sox an early lead they never surrendered. 

The home opener on April 4th at Fenway Park turned into a slugfest. the Sox jumped to a 5–0 first-inning lead thanks to back-to-back home runs by Trevor Story and Wilyer Abreu, and the fireworks continued all afternoon in a 13–9 win over the Cardinals. 

Two days later, the Sox swept a doubleheader against St. Louis. In the opener, trailing 4–2 in the ninth, the Sox rallied by loading the bases and plating two runs — including a bases-loaded walk by Devers — to tie the game. In the 10th, the red-hot Abreu (14-for-29, .483) ripped a line drive off the Green Monster, scoring Alex Bregman from second for a 5–4 walk-off win. The nightcap was a blowout, 18–7, with Devers going 4-for-4 and Bregman 4-for-6 with two doubles and a home run. Rookie Hunter Dobbins, called up from Worcester for his MLB debut, earned the win. 

After dropping three straight to the Blue Jays, the Sox salvaged the finale on April 10th in dramatic fashion. With the bases loaded and the score tied in the 10th, Trevor Story worked a 2–2 count before dribbling a soft grounder toward second. Jays infielder Andrés Giménez had no play at home and couldn’t turn two, settling for the out at first as Story’s walk-off groundout sealed a 4–3 extra-inning win.

Despite flashes of brilliance, the Sox’s early-season flaws were glaring. Through mid-April, the team was hitting just .093 with runners in scoring position and had committed a league-high 19 errors, leading to 14 unearned runs — a surprising total for a team featuring Gold Glover Bregman at third and a healthy Story at short. 

On April 13th, Crochet flirted with history, taking a no-hitter into the eighth inning before it was broken up on his 96th pitch — fittingly by Chase Meidroth, one of the prospects dealt for him. the Sox won 3–1, powered by Story’s two-run double and solo home run. 

The following series in Tampa Bay opened with an embarrassing 16–1 loss, but Bregman took charge the next day, going 5-for-5 with two home runs in a 7–4 victory. Just as importantly, the Sox played their first error-free game in more than a week. The Sox took the finale 1–0, thanks to a sterling bullpen effort led by Garrett Whitlock and a solo homer by David Hamilton. 

Back home, Story launched two three-run homers to back Hunter Dobbins in a 10–3 win over the White Sox on April 18th. The next day, the Sox blew a 3–0 lead but won 4–3 in 10 innings on Triston Casas’ wall-ball single. After dropping the third game, Walker Buehler (3–1) stopped the skid on Patriots’ Day (April 21st), limiting Chicago to four hits and one run over seven innings in a 4–2 win. 

Brayan Bello made his season debut on April 22nd against Seattle and, after a shaky first inning, settled in for an 8–3 win. He was backed by Wilyer Abreu (3-for-4 with a double and two steals), Alex Bregman (two doubles), and Triston Casas, who crushed a three-run homer into the centerfield bleachers. The Mariners’ pitching staff dominated the rest of the series, though, handing the Sox losses in the next two games. 

The Sox split a doubleheader in Cleveland on April 26rd, losing the opener but winning the nightcap 7–3 behind Walker Buehler’s strong outing and a show-stopping moment from Jarren Duran. After tripling into the right-field corner, Duran noticed rookie pitcher Doug Nikhazy pitching from the windup — and stole home with a headfirst slide to extend the lead to 6–0. 

The Sox carried that momentum into the April 27th finale, crushing the Guardians 13–3. Rob Refsnyder, Devers, and Ceddanne Rafaela all homered, while Duran went 4-for-6. Remarkably, the Sox stole home again — this time on a double steal, a feat they hadn’t accomplished in consecutive games since 1961. Bello earned the win in his second start of the year. 

In Toronto on April 29th, the Sox exploded for five home runs in the first two innings en route to a 10–2 rout. Newly acquired Lucas Giolito made his long-awaited debut the next night and was sharp early, leaving with a 6–0 lead after 5 2/3 shutout innings. But the Jays stormed back with back-to-back homers, tied the game, and ultimately walked it off in the 10th, 7–6. 

The Red Sox opened May still haunted by missed chances. After being four outs from victory in the second game of their Toronto series, they again watched a late lead slip away on May 1st, falling 4–2 as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. crushed a three-run homer off Justin Slaten on a 3–2 pitch with two outs in the eighth. 

It was a cruel outcome for Tanner Houck, who turned in his best outing of the season — seven innings, four hits, one run, no walks, and six strikeouts — but left with only a 2–1 lead after surrendering a solo shot in the seventh. Instead of a potential three-game sweep, the Sox settled for a series loss and a 3–3 road trip, sitting at 17–16. 

A troubling pattern was emerging. Over the previous three weeks, the Sox repeatedly jumped out to commanding leads — 3–0, 6–0, 9–0, 7–0, and 6–0 — only to squander them, winning just three of those five games. The problem wasn’t just the bullpen; it was an offense that vanished as games wore on, “curdling like a glass of milk left in the sun” in the late innings. 

KRISTIAN CAMPBELL

One bright spot was rookie Kristian Campbell, who was named American League “Player of the Month” for April. Campbell exceeded expectations, batting .313 with a .935 OPS over his first 28 games. He logged eight doubles, tied for second-most on the team, along with four home runs and 12 RBIs. 

His .412 on-base percentage through his first 30 games ranked third in Red Sox history for a player under 23, trailing only Ted Williams — whom Campbell surpassed in another category. His 17-game on-base streak to start his career was the second-longest in franchise history, breaking Williams’ mark of 15 games at that age. 

Back at Fenway on May 2nd, Brayan Bello led the Sox to a 6–1 win over the Twins. Wilyer Abreu went 3-for-4 with a double and two steals, while Alex Bregman, Rafael Devers, and David Hamilton all contributed key performances. Greg Weissert struck out three of four batters in a dominant eighth inning, and Romy Gonzalez doubled in Trevor Story, stole third, and scored on Hamilton’s RBI double.

Yet the series ended with another disappointment. The Sox lost 2 of 3, and though they scored first in nine straight games, they converted those early leads into wins only four times. Once again, late-game execution proved elusive. 

With a three-game losing streak and five losses in six games heading into May 7th against Texas, Alex Bregman took charge. He smashed his ninth homer of the year (and 200th of his career) into the Monster Seats in the fourth, doubled off the Wall in the sixth, and broke a tie in the seventh with a two-run single, leading the Sox to a 6–4 win. 

The next day, Bello worked 4⅔ scoreless innings before being lifted due to a high pitch count, and the Sox blanked the Rangers 5–0 behind Devers’ solo homer. 

On May 9th, rookie Hunter Dobbins delivered six shutout innings with six strikeouts and no walks — the first Sox pitcher to do so in 2025 — but the Sox lost in 12 innings to the Royals. They rebounded with a 10–1 rout on May 10th, powered by a 4-for-4 day from Devers and Garrett Crochet’s seven innings of one-run ball (1.92 ERA). Lucas Giolito followed with his best outing yet on May 11th, allowing just one unearned run in a 3–1 win, securing a series victory. 

Devers, who had bristled at being shifted to DH, responded emphatically. Over six games he went 10-for-21 with two homers, a double, and a stolen base, posting a 1.386 OPS and earning AL “Player of the Week” honors. 

But the bullpen’s woes persisted. On May 13th in Detroit, the Sox blew three separate leads — in the sixth, 10th, and 11th innings — before Javier Báez walked off Greg Weissert on the third pitch of the bottom of the 11th to turn a 9–7 lead into a 10–9 loss. By then, the Sox had already led MLB with 11 blown saves. 

Offensively, the picture wasn’t much brighter. the Sox was hitting just .242 with runners in scoring position, ranking 19th in MLB, despite having more at-bats in those spots than any other team. 

On May 17th, Devers delivered another unforgettable moment, launching a 2–1 breaking ball over the bullpen in right-center for a walk-off homer and a 7–6 win over Atlanta. Jarren Duran was instrumental, going 2-for-5, throwing out a runner at home, and driving in four runs — a two-run homer in the third and a two-run single in the eighth that tied the game. 

The Sox kept rolling on May 19th, jumping on Mets ace Kodai Senga, who had allowed just five earned runs in 44⅓ innings entering the game. Duran doubled and scored on Bregman’s RBI groundout in the first, and Story’s RBI single made it 2–0. Duran added an RBI triple in the second, and the Sox won 3–1. 

On May 23rd, Devers exploded for a career-high eight RBIs in a 19–5 demolition of Baltimore, blasting a three-run homer in the sixth and a grand slam in a 13-run eighth. The next day, he walked off the Orioles again, ripping a single up the middle in the 10th to score Ceddanne Rafaela and seal a 6–5 win in the opener of a doubleheader. The nightcap marked the MLB debut of top prospect Marcelo Mayer, called up to replace the injured Bregman. Mayer collected a hit, but the Sox fell 2–1 despite Liam Hendriks’ strong pitching and a 2-for-20 showing with runners in scoring position, resulting in a series split. 

In Milwaukee on May 26th, Crochet (2.04 ERA) struck out 11 but suffered another hard-luck loss as the Sox went just 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. As a team, they had already piled up a staggering 154 strikeouts in those situations. 

Meanwhile, Campbell, who had started his career on fire, cooled off dramatically, hitting just .183 over his last 30 games. And he wasn’t alone — much of the lineup was slumping. Beyond Crochet, the Sox’s starters often struggled to last past five innings, putting additional strain on an already shaky bullpen. Mayer was tasked with replacing Bregman’s consistency in the lineup, and the 22-year-old handled the challenge admirably in his first five games, collecting five hits, including two doubles. 

Crochet showcased his best form yet in a start against Atlanta, striking out a season-high 12 batters and escaping several jams over six innings. He saved his most dominant stretch for the seventh, fanning Michael Harris II, Nick Allen, and Ronald Acuña Jr. on just 13 pitches, carving up one of baseball’s most feared lineups. 

Trevor Story nearly made history in Atlanta, coming within inches of homering in three straight games. He settled for one — a three-run double off Bryce Elder that clanged off the top of the wall — but it was all the Red Sox needed in a 3–1 win over the Braves on June 1st, capping a series that began with a 5–1 victory on May 30th. 

Back home, the Sox stumbled badly against the Angels, dropping two sloppy one-run games marred by poor defense and missed opportunities with runners in scoring position. But on June 5th, Ceddanne Rafaela flipped the script with a dramatic 308-foot walk-off homer tucked around Pesky’s Pole, sealing an 11–9 win and avoiding the sweep. 

The next stop was Yankee Stadium, where Walker Buehler’s five-run first inning buried the Sox in a 6–2 loss on June 6th. The Sox, whose starters carried a 7.06 ERA in first innings, rebounded the next night behind Trevor Story’s bat. Story went 3-for-5 with five RBIs, including a bases-loaded double in a five-run third and a crucial two-run single in the ninth to secure a 10–7 win.  

On June 8th, Carlos Narváez haunted his former club with a three-run homer, and the Sox belted five total homers — including shots by Kristian Campbell, Abraham Toro, Story, and Rafael Devers — in an 11–7 win to take the series. 

Back at Fenway, the Sox dropped an 11-inning heartbreaker to Tampa Bay before rallying behind their youth movement. Top prospect Roman Anthony, called up just a day earlier, notched his first MLB hit — a two-run double — and made a sliding catch in right as the Sox beat the Rays, 3–1, on June 10th. Trevor Story homered onto Lansdowne Street, and Lucas Giolito earned his first win in five starts with six strong innings. A day later, Marcelo Mayer launched two solo homers and Toro and Jarren Duran added one apiece in a 4–3 win, while Walker Buehler (5–4) struck out seven in seven innings. 

A dramatic series against the Yankees followed. On June 13th, Garrett Crochet took a 1–0 shutout into the ninth and had struck out Aaron Judge in six straight at-bats — until Judge crushed Crochet’s 107th pitch 443 feet to tie the game. the Sox still walked it off in the 10th on a Narváez RBI single off the Green Monster. Hunter Dobbins pitched six scoreless innings in a 4–2 win on June 14th, and Brayan Bello completed the sweep the next day with a 2–0 gem, helped by a Devers solo shot. The Sox had won five straight and seven of eight — momentum that was abruptly interrupted hours later when Rafael Devers was traded to the San Francisco Giants. 

RAFAEL DEVERS

The road trip that followed began promisingly. On June 16th in Seattle, Giolito tossed six scoreless innings in a 2–0 win, aided by Roman Anthony’s first big league home run. Crochet struck out eight over six innings two days later in a 3–1 victory, with Trevor Story breaking a tie with a two-run homer.  

In San Francisco on June 20th, Ceddanne Rafaela starred with a double, RBI single, and towering solo homer in a 7–5 win, and was hitting .338 with five homers over his last 71 at-bats. But defensive miscues cost the Sox the next two games — two unearned runs in one loss and five in the other. 

A crushing 3–2 walk-off defeat to the Angels on June 24th extended the Sox’s skid. Christian Moore tied the game with a homer in the eighth and won it in the 10th with another blast off Justin Wilson. Mayer drove in both the Sox runs, but the Sox were swept by the Angels, hitting just .177 with 33 strikeouts while being outscored nearly 2-to-1. 

After six straight losses, the Sox finally broke through on June 28th, scoring three runs in each of the first three innings and matching their total from the previous four games. Wilyer Abreu delivered the big blow — a three-run homer in the first — as the Sox pounded out 18 hits in a 15–1 rout. Giolito worked seven innings and allowed just one unearned run. Still, a loss in the finale meant another series defeat to Toronto. 

The Red Sox closed June by celebrating the 50th anniversary of the 1975 World Series with a wild 13–6 win over the Cincinnati Reds on June 30th. Wilyer Abreu stole the show with a rare inside-the-park homer and then followed it with a grand slam — becoming the first Red Sox player since Jim Tabor in 1939 to hit both in the same game. Tabor, fittingly, hit two grand slams that day, one of them also inside the park. 

After splitting their final two games with Cincinnati, the Red Sox headed to Washington on July 4th sitting six games behind the Yankees in the AL East — and immediately lit up the scoreboard. Lucas Giolito continued his midseason surge, allowing just two runs in a dominant 11–2 win over the Nationals. Over his last five starts, Giolito had surrendered only three earned runs in 32⅔ innings (0.83 ERA) to improve to 5–1 on the season. Trevor Story powered the offense with four hits, including his 13th home run, a two-run shot in the fifth. 

The Sox’s bats stayed hot on July 5th, erupting for seven runs in the third inning — highlighted by Jarren Duran’s two-run triple and Ceddanne Rafaela’s two-run homer — en route to a 10–3 victory and the franchise’s 10,000th win. The Red Sox became just the fifth club in MLB history to reach that milestone, joining the Dodgers, Yankees, Giants, and Cardinals. 

On July 6th, Story homered again and Garrett Crochet improved to 9–4, striking out seven over five innings in a 6–4 win to complete the sweep. Crochet became just the fourth pitcher in franchise history to record 150 strikeouts before the All-Star break, joining legends Roger Clemens, Pedro Martínez, and Chris Sale. Rafaela stayed scorching, ripping a ninth-inning solo homer as part of a three-hit day. 

The momentum carried into Colorado, where Roman Anthony, Rafaela, and Romy Gonzalez all homered in a 9–3 win on July 7th. A day later, Brayan Bello came within three outs of a shutout before settling for his first career complete game in a 10–2 victory. The Sox broke open a scoreless tie with four two-out runs in the sixth and six more in the seventh, highlighted by a three-run homer from Story and a 456-foot blast from Duran.  

Giolito and the offense kept rolling on July 9th with a 10–2 win and a sweep of the Rockies, as Masataka Yoshida returned from injury to go 3-for-4 with an RBI. 

Rafaela’s go-ahead two-run double in the seventh lifted the Sox to a 4–3 win over Tampa Bay on July 10th, their season-high seventh straight win. Crochet capped his sensational first half with a complete-game shutout in a 1–0 victory on July 12th, and Rafaela homered again the next day as the Sox extended its winning streak to 10 games with a 4–1 sweep of the Rays. 

After the All-Star break, the Sox’s offense sputtered against the Cubs before breaking through on July 20th in a 6–1 win. Wilyer Abreu hit a two-run homer in the seventh to give the Sox the lead, and Alex Bregman, coming off the bench as a pinch-hitter, crushed a three-run homer in the eighth to seal it. Crochet held Chicago in check over six gritty innings. 

CARLOS NARVAEZ

The bats cooled again in two losses to the Phillies, during which the Sox struck out 28 times. But on July 23rd, Carlos Narváez delivered a dramatic two-run homer in the 11th inning to complete a comeback 9–8 win. A dropped popup by Marcelo Mayer had extended the fifth inning, allowing the Sox to rally. After back-to-back bases-loaded walks, Romy Gonzalez smashed his first career grand slam to flip a 5–0 deficit into a 6–5 lead. 

At Fenway on July 26th, Shohei Ohtani and Teoscar Hernández both homered off Crochet in the first inning, but the lefty regrouped and struck out 10 over six innings as the Sox rallied to beat the Dodgers 4–2. Jarren Duran led the charge with two triples and a double — his first career game with three extra-base hits. A day later, Bregman belted a two-run homer and Roman Anthony tripled as the Sox secured their first post-break series win, 4–3. Jordan Hicks preserved the lead with a crucial double play in the eighth and his second save in the ninth. 

After a crushing walk-off loss in Minnesota, the Sox bounced back with an 8–5 win on July 29th behind Trevor Story’s home run and Giolito’s steady outing. Rafaela tripled and scored on Anthony’s RBI single, Bregman doubled him home, and Story’s two-run blast capped a four-run rally. Giolito improved to 7–2 with five strikeouts over six innings, and Duran added a homer, double, and stolen base. 

The Sox capped the month with a statement win on July 30th, hammering the Twins 13–1. Duran went 3-for-5 with a homer and four RBIs, Story homered for the second straight game, and Bello allowed just one run over seven innings. the Sox closed July with a 59–51 record, sitting in third place in the AL East — five games behind Toronto — and riding the momentum of a powerful midseason surge. 

The Red Sox opened August with late-inning drama at Fenway Park. On August 1st, rookie Roman Anthony lined a fly ball over a drawn-in Chas McCormick in center field to score the automatic runner from third, giving the Sox a thrilling 2–1 walk-off win over the new-look Astros in the 10th inning. 

The next day, Romy Gonzalez jump-started the Sox offense by crushing the first pitch he saw over the Green Monster, erasing an early deficit. Trevor Story added a homer and three RBIs, and Abraham Toro launched a two-run blast as the Sox rolled to a 7–3 win and leapfrogged the Yankees into second place in the AL East, four games back. On August 3rd, Lucas Giolito dominated Houston over eight innings of three-hit ball, and a sloppy Astros defense imploded during a six-run fourth inning highlighted by consecutive RBI singles from Story and Ceddanne Rafaela. The 6–1 win completed a three-game sweep. 

Jarren Duran provided the fireworks on August 4th, smashing a 419-foot, three-run homer into the center-field bleachers as the Sox won its sixth straight, 8–5 over Kansas City. Wilyer Abreu halted a Royals rally with a laser throw to the plate in the eighth. Garrett Crochet kept the momentum going the following night, striking out eight to win his ninth consecutive decision and lift the Sox to a 6–2 victory, marking the club’s ninth win in ten games. Trevor Story drove in three runs, including a tie-breaking blooper in the sixth. The Sox improved to 54–51, 13 games over .500 for the first time since 2021, and an eye-popping 23–5 since June 4th. 

The Sox road trip opened with a 10–2 rout of the Padres on August 8th, as Abreu and Masataka Yoshida homered and Walker Buehler spun six shutout innings. Connor Wong cleared the bases with a double. San Diego took the next two games, however, slowing the Sox briefly. 

Returning to Houston on August 12th, Alex Bregman was cheered before launching a homer in his first at-bat — and booed his next time up — as the Sox fell 7–6. The following night, the Sox answered emphatically with a 14–1 demolition. Bregman and Anthony homered again, Carlos Narváez added a three-run blast, and newly acquired Dustin May scattered five hits across six scoreless innings with eight strikeouts. Abreu piled on with a pair of run-scoring doubles in the late innings. 

TREVOR STORY

Back at Fenway, Trevor Story delivered another clutch moment on August 15th, lining a walk-off single to beat the Marlins 2–1 after the Sox had been held hitless through four innings. Lucas Giolito kept Miami quiet over 6⅓ innings, and the Sox notched their 10th walk-off win of the season, most in the majors. 

Brayan Bello starred the next day, striking out seven over six strong innings as the Sox improved to 41–22 at home with a 7–5 victory, having now won 16 of their last 18 at Fenway. Story stayed scorching with a two-hit day, including a three-run homer. 

The Sox stumbled next, dropping two games to the last-place Orioles — including a gut-wrenching extra-inning loss on August 19th despite Nathaniel Lowe’s game-tying homer in his the Sox debut. Three consecutive innings ended with the bases loaded and no runs scored. 

The club regrouped in New York. On August 21st, Lowe and Anthony powered a 6–3 win, even as the Sox went just 3-for-19 with runners in scoring position. Bello followed with a three-hit shutout the next night in a 1–0 win, and Crochet capped the series by striking out 11 and reaching 200 strikeouts on the season in a 12–1 rout. Story’s hot streak continued with a two-run double and his 20th homer of the year. 

JARREN DURAN

Roman Anthony and Jarren Duran homered and the bullpen locked it down as the Sox beat Baltimore 4–3 on August 25th. Giolito followed with eight shutout innings in a 5–0 win, and Rafaela delivered a dramatic go-ahead homer in the ninth on August 27th for a 3–2 victory, completing a sweep and a 7–1 road trip. 

Highly anticipated pitching prospect Payton Tolle debuted on August 29th against Pittsburgh, striking out eight over 5⅓ scoreless innings and leaving with a 2–0 lead, only for the bullpen to falter. A sloppy 10–3 loss followed as Dustin May struggled with command and the offense went 3-for-15 with runners in scoring position. Once 14–1 at home, the Sox had now lost five straight at Fenway. 

Jarren Duran reignited the offense on August 31st, smashing a two-out liner to the triangle and circling the bases for an inside-the-park three-run homer that turned a tie game into a 5–2 win, closing the month with his trademark blend of speed and spark.

AROLDIS CHAPMAN

After finding his footing in late June, Roman Anthony blossomed into the impact hitter the Sox envisioned, capturing AL “Rookie of the Month” honors. His breakout August included a .304 average, six homers, and league-leading totals among rookies with 31 hits and 53 total bases. He also tallied 12 multi-hit games, the most by any rookie in MLB that month. 

At the back end of the bullpen, Aroldis Chapman was nearly untouchable, earning AL “Reliever of the Month” after essentially throwing an 11-inning no-hitter. In 34 batters faced, he retired 33 — issuing only one walk — while posting a 0.00 ERA, a microscopic 0.09 WHIP, 14 strikeouts, and eight saves. the Sox went 10–2 in games he pitched, and he did not allow a hit after July 23.  

September opened with perhaps the strangest walk-off homer Fenway Park has ever seen. In a 6–4 win over Cleveland on September 1st, Trevor Story hit a ball just 306 feet down the right-field line. Guardians right fielder Jhonkensy Noel reached over the short wall, juggled the ball off the foul pole, his glove, and then a fan. Initially ruled foul, replay overturned the call and awarded Story a two-run home run — the decisive blow. 

The next day, Alex Bregman delivered in the clutch, legging out an infield RBI single with two outs in the eighth to snap a tie and lift the Sox to an 11–7 victory. But the win was tempered by bad news: Roman Anthony exited in the fourth inning with a left oblique injury. 

In Arizona on September 7th, the Sox looked lifeless for most of the series until the final innings of the finale. With the game tied 4–4 in the ninth, Anthony’s replacement, Nick Sogard, ripped a two-run double into the left-field gap, and Carlos Narváez followed with an RBI single to pad the lead. Chapman, facing four batters thanks to a dropped third strike, slammed the door in the ninth, securing a 7–4 win and extending his streak to 50 consecutive batters without allowing a hit. 

The rotation kept rolling. On September 8th in Sacramento, Garrett Crochet shut down the Athletics on three hits over seven scoreless innings, striking out 10 in a 7–0 victory. The following day, No. 6 prospect Connelly Early dazzled in his MLB debut, tying a franchise record with 11 strikeouts and beating Oakland 5–0. 

The Sox inconsistency with runners in scoring position reappeared on September 14th. Despite scoring six runs in the first inning, powered by five straight hits from Jarren Duran, Alex Bregman, Story, Nathaniel Lowe, and Romy Gonzalez, the Sox failed to score again and dropped the first two games of the series to the Yankees. 

In his Fenway debut on September 16th, Early struck out seven and exited with a 1–0 lead, but the bullpen blew the game. His 18 strikeouts in his first two starts tied five other pitchers (most recently Paul Skenes in 2024) for the most in a pitcher’s first two outings since Stephen Strasburg in 2010. He also became the first pitcher in over a century to throw at least 10 innings with 18 strikeouts, one or no walks, and one or no runs allowed combined in his first two career appearances. 

Yet the Sox squandered a golden opportunity in the second inning of that game, loading the bases with no outs and failing to score. Ceddanne Rafaela struck out, and Romy Gonzalez hit into a double play. With just 11 games left, the Sox (82–69) slipped to the third AL Wild Card spot. 

The Sox bounced back the next night (September 17th) with a 5–4 walk-off win over Oakland. Sogard’s grounder brought home the “ghost runner,” Nate Eaton, from third in the 10th inning. Trevor Story stole his 31st straight base, setting a club record, before finally being caught on attempt No. 32. 

After dropping 2 of 3 to Oakland, the Sox clung to a 1½-game Wild Card lead entering a crucial series with the Rays. Their bats came alive on September 19th, scoring seven runs in the eighth inning of an 11–7 win, led by Rafaela’s four hits. The next night, newly acquired Kyle Harrison made his Red Sox debut, pitching six strong innings in a 6–3 win. 

The Sox carried that momentum into Toronto, where Lucas Giolito pitched into the sixth inning of a 4–1 win on September 23rd, with Justin Wilson and Chapman (32nd save) finishing the job. Masataka Yoshida had two hits and scored a run, Narváez ripped a two-run double, and Lowe added two RBI singles. 

CEDDANNE RAFAELA

On September 24th, Garrett Crochet (18–5, 2.59 ERA) dominated the Blue Jays over eight scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and no walks while striking out six. He surpassed the 200-inning mark, the first the Sox pitcher to do so since Eduardo Rodriguez in 2019. Yoshida and Narváez homered, and Abreu ended the game with a highlight-reel throw to first base from right field. 

The Sox clinched a postseason berth on September 26th, rallying from a 3–0 deficit to beat Detroit 4–3. Chapman escaped a ninth-inning jam by striking out the final two batters, stranding the go-ahead run at third. In the bottom half, Romy Gonzalez reached and scored the walk-off clincher on Rafaela’s dramatic triple off the center-field wall. 

The Sox split their final two regular-season games before heading to New York to face the Yankees in the Wild Card Series. 

Game #1 at Yankee Stadium was a classic. Garrett Crochet was brilliant, striking out 11 and allowing just four hits over 7⅔ innings. Down 1–0 in the seventh, Rafaela walked and Nick Sogard stretched a routine single into a double. That set up Masataka Yoshida, who delivered a two-run single for the lead. Chapman escaped a bases-loaded, nobody-out jam in the ninth by striking out Giancarlo Stanton, inducing a flyout from Jazz Chisholm Jr., and fanning Trent Grisham to preserve a 3–1 win. 

Game #2 was defined by missed chances. Story drove in all three the Sox runs, including a game-tying solo homer in the sixth after Duran’s misplay led to a New York lead. In the seventh, the Sox loaded the bases but failed to score when Rafaela popped up a bunt, Sogard flied out, and Yoshida’s infield single was stopped by Chisholm. Eaton, who should have scored on a bobble by Ben Rice, hesitated at third. Story nearly rescued the inning with a deep fly ball, but it died on the warning track in a 4–3 loss. 

CONNELLY EARLY

Game #3 exposed the flaws that plagued the Sox all season. They were shut out 4–0, undone by defensive miscues and offensive futility. Rookie Connelly Early pitched well but was victimized by poor fielding — including a fly ball that fell between Rafaela and Abreu and a costly misplay by Lowe. The Yankees scored four in the fourth, all unearned. Meanwhile, rookie Cam Schlittler dominated, striking out 12 over eight shutout innings, allowing just five hits and no walks. The Sox managed only weak contact as their season ended with a thud.

The Sox power was nowhere to be found in the three-game series, even in the little-league-like dimensions of Yankee Stadium. Trevor Story hit the only Red Sox home run of the series.That was just a continuation of a frustrating trend for a Sox lineup that experienced a serious power outage in the second half. Still, only two hitters on the team this year exceeded 20 home runs (Trevor Story and Wilyer Abreu).

While defensive miscues in the ALWC will haunt the Sox to an extent, no one can question the team’s overall effort this season.

But the Sox found their footing thanks in large part to the arrival of star rookie Roman Anthony. Trevor Story and Bregman did their best to help a young team grow.

The starting pitching depth, beyond Garrett Crochet and Brayan Bello, was depleted by the end, and Lucas Giolito was not available in the Wild Card. The Sox also had to overcome Walker Buehler’s failures.

The list of injuries was too long to go into detail about, but it's still important to acknowledge: Triston Casas, Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford, Hunter Dobbins, Richard Fitts and Liam Hendriks all missed large portions or all of the campaign due to injury. 

Roman Anthony suffered a season-ending injury to his left oblique, and the Sox often struggled to score runs after that. Alex Bregman was lost for seven weeks in the middle of the season with a severe right quad injury and he wasn’t the same offensively after his return.