The team re-signed outfielder Jarren Duran to a one-year, $7.7m contract for 2026 after declining the option on his prior contract. Shortstop Trevor Story opted in to the remaining two years of his contract to remain with the team.

Brennan Bernardino was traded to the Colorado Rockies for minor league outfielder Braiden Ward on November 18th. The team traded pitchers Brandon Clarke and Richard Fitts to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for Sonny Gray and cash on November 25th. They traded minor league prospects Jhostynxon García and Jesus Travieso to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for Johan Oviedo, Tyler Samaniego and Adonys Guzman on December 4th. On December 21st, the Sox traded pitcher Hunter Dobbins and minor league pitching prospects to the St. Louis Cardinals for first baseman Willson Contreras. They also signed Isiah Kiner‑Falefa to a one‑year contract and claimed infielder Tsung‑Che Cheng. Days later, the team completed a deal with Milwaukee, sending Kyle Harrison, Shane Drohan, and David Hamilton to the Brewers for Caleb Durbin, Andruw Monasterio, Anthony Seigler, and a draft pick.

Connor Wong signed a one-year, $1.3m contract for 2026 to avoid arbitration.

The winter was less about splash than steady roster engineering. The biggest early swing came on January 21st, when Ranger Suárez agreed to a five‑year, $150 million deal.

As camp unfolded, the Red Sox trimmed steadily, optioning or reassigning nearly every NRI in waves. The final notable addition came March 12th, when the Sox signed lefty Danny Coulombe. Tommy Kahnle arrived late on a minor‑league deal.

The Sox opened in Cincinnati on March 26th and took them down 3-0. Garrett Crochet allowed only three hits in six innings, Ceddanne Rafaela hit an RBI single in the seventh inning and the Red Sox got their first opening day shutout since 2015. Roman Anthony had three hits for the Red Sox. Crochet struck out six and walked two en route to his first victory in an opener. The Red Sox added a pair of runs in the ninth on RBI singles by Trevor Story and Jarren Duran.
 

In Houston, the Sox lost the next three games. The Red Sox only crossed home plate seven times during their three games. Despite the additions of defense-focused infielders this offseason, the Red Sox had twice as many errors (six) through five games than they had last year. They struck out 64 times in six games and had a .211 batting average as a team. The Sox had a 4.91 ERA as a team, which hardly reflected their run prevention-focus. The Red Sox allowed 11 home runs and hit six.

Fueled by a pair of homers from Marcelo Mayer and Willson Contreras, the Red Sox snapped their five-game losing skid on April 3rd, defeating Xander Bogaerts and the Padres, 5-2, in their home opener at Fenway Park.he Sox benefited from a bounce-back start from Sonny Gray (6 innings pitched, 4 hits, 2 earned runs). Sox pitchers limited San Diego to just four total hits in the victory.

But then the Sox lost the next two games to the Padres and the first game of the series with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Then on April 7th, Trevor Story lined a two-run double in the sixth as the Red Sox overcame 11 strikeouts to beat the Brewers 3-2 to  end the three-game skid. Garrett Crochet struck out seven, who won for just the third time in 11 games this season and avoided a 2-9 start, which has happened only four times in franchise history, most recently in 2011. Crochet allowed two runs on five hits in 6 1/3 innings with two walks and a hit batter. Aroldis Chapman picked up his third save with a scoreless ninth.

A 5-0 victory over the Brewers on April 8th, gave the Sox their first series win of the season, after losing six games by two runs or fewer start the season. Sonny Gray tossed 6 1/3 scoreless frames to put them in prime position. The Sox took a patient approach against the Brewers, walking a total of eight times and making Milwaukee throw 146 pitches spread over four pitchers.

Most of the game with the Cardinals on April 11th, was relatively typical for the 2026 Red Sox, getting chances here and there but not enough to feel like the offense was clicking. But the Sox turned up the heat in a major way, rattling off five runs in the top of the ninth inning to pad their 2-1 lead, winning 7 to 1. Willson Contreras stepped up and showed his offensive capabilities, going 2 for 4 at the plate with 3 RBIs. Caleb Durbin got two RBIs as well, finally breaking through after a trying first few weeks as a Red Sox. Jarren Duran and Ceddanne Rafaela each added an RBI as well, so it was a true team effort in the lineup. But it was starting pitcher Ranger Suarez who set the tone in the first six frames with his first strong and quality start of the season. Not only did the left-hander throw six innings, but they were six shutout innings.

Willson Contreras homered against his former team and matched a career high with four hits, leading the Red Sox past the Cardinals 9-3 on April 12th. Trevor Story also had four hits. Contreras launched a two-run shot in the second inning and finished with three RBIs.

On April 13th. Garrett Crochet had a night to forget in Minneapolis. He didn’t even make it out of the second inning against the Twins, submitting the worst start of his big-league career at Target Field. By the time Alex Cora came out of the dugout to take the ball out of Crochet’s hands, he had only recorded five outs — and put the Sox in an insurmountable 11-run deficit.

Them aftering the first two games to the Twins, Connelly Early righted the ship on April 15th. He gave up one run, two hits and two walks with five strikeouts over six innings, the longest of his eight major league starts. Trevor Story homered and drove in five runs to lead the Red Sox over the Twins 9-5. Andruw Monasterio had three of the 13 hits.

Back at Fenway on April 17th, after nine full innings of scoreless baseball, the Red Sox finally got a scoring chance in the bottom of the 10th inning. Jarren Duran started the frame on second, and the moment he saw an opening, he stole third base to threaten Detroit with zero outs. Alex Cora instead called on Masataka Yoshida to pinch hit with one out. His only at-bat on was a memorable one. Masa sent a ball into the dirt with so much force that it bounced over the entire infield. That was all Duran needed to cross home plate standing and give the Red Sox a 1-0 win. Ranger Suarez tossed eight shutout innings in what ended up being a pitching duel. The left-hander allowed just two hits (both in the first inning) and one walk, striking out four and recording as many swings-and-misses along the way.

The Yankees came to Fenway and buried the Sox in three straight games. The Sox .338 slugging percentage is the second-worst in MLB, ahead of only the utterly dejected and desperate New York Mets. Seven Red Sox got on base against the Yankees and none scored — maybe they could've if the Red Sox had an ounce of power in their lineup. Every alarm over the Red Sox's offense is souding. They've scored two runs or less in four of their last five games, their worst offensive streak of the season so far. The Yankees exploited their every weakness — they seemingly have no offensive strengths as a team during this series, as if their confidence could stand to be crushed any more.

The problem the Sox had followed them down to Baltimore. Brayan Bello gave up numerous home runs on the first meeting on April 24th. But the next day behind Garrett Crochet, the Sox bats came alive in a 17-1 beat down of the Orioles. Andruw Monasterio hit a grand slam as part of a 10-run ninth inning. Willson Contreras added a three-run homer and Caleb Durbin a two-run shot in the frame. When the ninth was finally over, the Sox had scored more runs in one inning than it had managed in its first 26 games. Garrett Crochet (3-3) struck out seven over six shutout innings, the first four coming while the game was still competitive. Two starts after the ugliest outing of his Red Sox career, Crochet looked every bit the Sox ace.

But After an underwhelming start to the 2026 season, the Red Sox fired manager Alex Cora, along with the vast majority of his coaching staff after thye game. Former WooSox manager Chad Tracy took over as the interim manager.

On April 26th, Connelly Early (2-1) allowed two runs in 6 2/3 innings in the rubber game victory for the Sox, 5 to 3. Ceddanne Rafaela, Marcelo Mayer and Andruw Monasterio also had RBI hits to help Chad Tracy get a win in his MLB managerial debut.

Ranger Suárez and Greg Weissert combined on a two-hitter, Carlos Narváez hit a solo home run and the Red Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-0, on April 27th. Suárez (2-2) struck out 10 and walked one, matching a season high by going eight innings. He held the Blue Jays without a hit until the sixth. He set down the final nine batters he faced before Weissert finished.

The Sox (12-19) lost the next two to the Blue Jays and returned home, finishing April in last place, eight games behind the Yankees.

May started with rookie Jake Bennett coming up from the WooSox to make his major league debut against the Astros. He struck out the ever-dangerous Yordan Alvarez in the first inning and went on to toss five solid innings of work for a team in need of just that: a solid outing. He allowed one earned run, a solo home run by Astros leadoff hitter Carlos Correa in the third inning, but walked away with a 3-1 win, thanks to a three-run homer by Jarren Duran.

Duran went 3 for 5 and drove in three runs, and Wilyer Abreu and Marcelo Mayer both finished with RBIs in a 12-hit night in Detroit on May 4th. Payton Tolle pitched seven innings of two-run ball, Duran hit a three-run home run and the Red Sox used a five-run seventh inning to beat the Detroit Tigers 5-4.

Ceddanne Rafaela homered and drove in four runs, and the Red Sox beat the Tigers for the second straight night with a 10-3 victory. Willson Contreras and Wilyer Abreu also homered for the Sox who had lost four of five before coming to Detroit. Contreras hit the first pitch he saw, an estimated 449 feet over the bullpen in left-center and stayed at the plate to admire its flight. Two pitches later, Abreu hit a 109-mph line drive down the right-field line for the Red Sox’ third homer of the night.

CONNELLY EARLY

Sonny Gray pitched five innings in his return from injury and the Red Sox finished a three-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers with a 4-0 win on May 6th. Gray (3-1) gave up four hits and two walks while striking out two.

Connelly Early threw a career-high seven innings against the Tampa Bay Rays on May 8th, which snapped their seven-game winning streak. Early shut out the visiting team 2-0 on 96 pitches (70 strikes). He allowed four hits, one walk and hit by pitch apiece, collected eight whiffs and strikeouts each in his third win of the season.

Pinch-hitter Ceddanne Rafaela had a tiebreaking, two-run homer over the Green Monster and the Red Sox beat Philadelphia 3-1, on May 13th. Slumping Trevor Story hit a solo homer for the Red Sox, who had lost three of their previous four games. He entered hitting .203 with two homers. Making his second start after missing a couple of weeks due to right hamstring tightness, Sonny Gray (4-1) gave up one run and two hits over six innings with six strikeouts and one walk. Aroldis Chapman struck out the side in the ninth, working around a pair of walks, and finished a three-hitter to remain perfect in nine save chances.

In Atlanta, on May 16th, the Sox rallied late to beat the Atlanta Braves 3-2, coming off a brutal 3-2 extra-inning loss the night before.  Payton Tolle allowed a leadoff home run on his second pitch of the game, but that was the only major flaw of Tolle’s outing. He went a career-high eight strong frames, giving up two earned runs, four hits, one walk, and striking out three and collecting six swing-and-misses. He threw 85 pitches (60 strikes) of efficient ball, setting himself up to attempt a complete game. illson Contreras saved the day in the eighth, clobbering a 426-foot two-run home run to deep left field with two outs, to give his team the lead.

The Red Sox are dead last in the AL East, 10 1/2 games behind Tampa Bay with May not even over. By every measure that matters in the standings, this team is a disappointment. But watch the actual games and something doesn’t add up. Even with Garrett Crochet on the IL, the rest of the rotation has been effective. The bullpen has been one of the quiet success stories of the first two months. The defense is better. And yet the Red Sox are 19-27 because the offense has been absolutely allergic to doing anything—aka scoring runs—when it matters. Their offense ranks 21st in batting average (.235), 23rd in on-base percentage (.314), and 29th in slugging (.353). Through 19 home games at Fenway, the Red Sox have scored just 56 runs — the lowest 19-game stretch at Fenway since the Green Monster was built in 1934.

Off to Kansas City where the Sox won on May 18th. Willson Contreras hit his team-leading 10th homer and Sonny Gray allowed one run on five hits in six-plus innings. He struck out nine and walked one as the Sox beat the Royals 3-1. Three relievers followed Gray, with Aroldis Chapman working the ninth for his 11th save in as many opportunities.

In the second game, Jarren Duran hit a home run, doubled and drove in three runs, Willson Contreras added two hits and three RBIs, and the Sox beat the Royals 7-1. Duran was 2 for 3 with two walks while Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu had two hits apiece. Starter Ranger Suarez gave up one run and four hits and walked three in 4 1/3 innings.

The Sox swept the series in Kansas City by beating the Royals 4 to 3 on May 20th. Duran’s opposite-field two-run homer in the seventh inning rallied the Sox. With one on and one out in the seventh, Duran sent reliever Steven Cruz’s fastball 366 feet into the bullpen in left for his sixth homer. The Red Sox’ three-game winning streak matched its season high. Willson Contreras had three of the Sox’ 11 hits, including his second triple in four years.

The Sox returned home and were swepot by the Minnesota Twins. They then battled the Atlanta Braves but couldn't hold on in the first match-up on May 26th. Jarren Duran and Ceddanne Rafaela started the game going back-to-back with first inning homers, but coulodn't hold the lead.

The second game on May 27th was all Red Sox however. The Red Sox looked like a different team in the best way possible beating the Braves 8-0. Connelly Early had thrown the ball fairly well in his three previous starts with no more than three earned runs allowed. Against arguably baseball’s best lineup, he tossed seven brilliant innings of shutout ball. He struck out seven hitters and allowed just four hits on the night.

In Cleveland on May 30th, Sonny Gray continued to be the steadying force in the Sox rotation, throwing six relatively clean innings and striking out seven. The Sox won 9 to 1 and scored eight of their nine runs against Cleveland’s bullpen, including six in the ninth. Connor Wong — along with everyone else in the ballpark — thought he’d broken his homer drought in the sixth inning, only for replay review to downgrade his knock to a double. But it was the double that would give the Sox a lead they would not relinquish, and he would get another RBI in the Sox’big ninth inning outburst.

The next day, Masataka Yoshida had the go-ahead single during a six-run seventh inning and the Red Sox rallied for a 9-4 victory over the Guardians to take the series. Everyone in the Sox lineup had at least one hit. Jarren Duran had a leadoff homer and it was the 10th time he had gone deep this season, with nine coming in May. Ranger Suarez tied a season high with 10 strikeouts.

Wilyer Abreu hit a two-run homer and drove in three runs, Payton Tolle pitched six scoreless innings and the Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles 8-1 on June 3rd. Mickey Gasper had a two-run triple in the Sox five-run fifth inning and Ceddanne Rafaela had three hits. Willson Contreras had two singles and a double, and every spot in the Red Sox batting order had at least one hit.

PAYTON TOLLE

Tolle was once again in command and it marked the first scoreless start of his big-league career, and his fifth quality start of the season. Across eight starts so far this season, he wa sporting just a 2.28 ERA. ​He graduated from a fast-rising, blue-chip prospect into a legitimate difference-maker on a Red Sox club in need of some energy and results amid its ongoing malaise. ​ Of his 11 career starts with the Sox Tolle allowed three runs or fewer in 10 of those appearances — and is the first Boston pitcher to open a season with eight or more starts with three or fewer runs allowed since Chris Sale (11 straight starts) accomplished the feat in 2018.

On the other side of the coin was Brayan Bello. He labored when tasked with starting games at the big league level this spring. Entering the game against the Orioles the next day, Bello’s numbers when handed the ball in the first inning were downright brutal — sporting a 9.68 ERA and a .370 batting average against over seven total starts.​ By the end of the first inning, Bello surrendered six total runs to the Orioles — putting the Sox behind the eight-ball en route to an 8-2 loss. As a result Bello was optioned down to the Woo Sox. The Sox were 9-20 at Fenway Park this year and were off to the franchise’s worst home record to begin a season since 1932.

Pitching against his former team for the first time as a member of the Red Sox, Sonny Gray earned the victory in a 5-3 win on June 5th at Yankee Stadium. Gray tossed 6 1/3 innings on 79 pitches (56 strikes) and picked up his seventh win of the season despite allowing eight hits (two home runs), three earned runs, and two walks at Yankee Stadium. Willson Contreras had the highest of highs in the top of the fifth inning, launching a no-doubter 2-run shot into the second deck. He followed that up with an emphatic bat flip in celebration. Contreras has been as good as expected thus far in 2026. His 13 home runs lead the team, and he’s batting .299

After splitting with the Yankees the Sox heang riughtd to Tampa where the Rays took all three games. How bad were the Red Sox?  They were 0-29 on the season, when trailing by three runs or more at any point in the game and 0-37 when trailing after eight innings. They never scored when they actually needed the runs to tie the game or take the lead. Yes, the offense was bad, but it was specifically abysmal when the game was on the line in a way that’s all but mathematically impossible. They were the worst offense in baseball in high leverage situations (batting .214 with a .609 OPS).

The Sox returned home to face the Rangers on June 12th and did everything right, wiunning 10 to 1. In fact, those 10 runs were the first time the Red Sox have scored double-digits at home this season. The Red Sox broke the game open in the fifth inning with four runs, all coming off of Rangers starting pitcher Jack Leiter. A pair of RBI doubles, a run-scoring single, and a sacrifice fly broke the game open. Ceddanne Rafaela, who batted second, finished the day with two doubles and a two-run home run. Sonny Gray finished with his third quality start in a row, allowing just one run and five hits in six innings. He struck out seven and didn’t issue a walk.

The next night Ceddanne Rafaela hit a clutch single with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning that drove home two runs and gave the Red Sox a lead. With the score tied 2-2 in the seventh and the bases loaded, Rafaela laced a two-run single into left field. In the eighth, Jarren Duran delivered his biggest swing of the month when he launched one into the right-field seats, turning a 4-3 lead into a 6-3 eventual win.

The Red Sox then lost three straight to the Blue Jays at Fenway, scoring just four runs in 27 innings. They ranked last in the Ameriucan League with only 282 runs scored and left 13 runners on base in scoring position in the last game. As Sox announcer Dave O'Brien summed it up, "It felt like a root canal with no pain killer"

The last place Red Sox, 15 1/2 games out, flew out to Seattle on June 19th and a stellar Ranger Suárez start led them to a 6-2 win. Suarez had a no-hitter broken up in the 7th inning and was supported by some clutch hitting. The Sox jumped out to a 6-0 lead on the back of Caleb Durbin (3-for-4) who homered (four HRs in his last seven games).

The next night the Sox dominated the Mariners. Connelly Early started and gave up two singles in the first inning and that was it. He and the Sox staff no-hit Seattle for the next 8 1/3 innings, winning, 5 to 1. Wilyer Abreu homered and Durbin stayed hot with two more hits.

After losing a heartbrealing walk-off loss to the Rockies on June 22nd, Sonny Gray (9-1) led the Sox to a 5-2 win the next night. He struck out 11 and was supported at the plate by Wilyer Abreu, who tripled and homered.

The last-place Red Sox (32-46) were 5-11 in their last 16 games and showed no signs of a team capable of regaining momentum. Two brutal lossed to the lowly Rockies encapsulated the season, as the Sox found a way to lose in dramatic fashion.

Against the Yankees on June 25th, Caleb Durbin broke a tie with a two-run homer in the fifth inning, Connelly Early allowed two runs over six innings and the Red Sox beat the New York 6-3. Nate Eaton and Ceddanne Rafaela each drove in a run for the Red Sox, who beat the Yanks at Fenway Park for the first time this season.

Payton Tolle pitched 6 1/3 perfect innings before giving up a hit, as the Sox beat the Yankees, 6 to 1 on June 26th. Wilyer Abreu hit a two-out triple and Willson Contreras followed with an RBI single. Contreras also belted a solo home run to put the Sox ahead 4-0 in the third inning.

In the third match-up on June 27th, behind Jake Bennett’s clean 6 1/3 innings, the Red Sox scored early and often off Gerritt Cole, with Masataka Yoshida and Anthony Seigler picking up the torch, beating them 4 to 1. Yoshida’s homer came in the first plate appearance of the game for the Sox, setting the tone for a pretty nice day at the ballpark. Anthony Seigler and Ceddanne Rafalea joined Masa in the two-hit club and Seigler’s bomb was the first of his career. Willson Contreras continued his excellent season at the plate with a two-run double in the third to drive in the final runs of the game.

SONNY GRAY

The final game on June 28th, was the best, the worst and then the best at the end. Sonny Gray’s effort was different in this game. The veteran righty looked unhittable from the very start against a scuffling Yankees lineup and came closer than ever to his first career no-hitter. Until Amed Rosario shot a single up the middle with one out in the seventh, there was real belief at Fenway that Gray would finish the job. Gray’s stellar effort very nearly went to waste when, in the ninth inning, with a runner on first and second, Ben Rice flew out to deep right field. For some reason, Wilyer Abreu attempted to throw the runner out who was trying to advance to third with a two-run lead. The throw got away from everyone, the runner scored, and the runner on first advanced all the way to third. The next hitter hit a ground ball that was able to score the him and tie the game.

Then, in the tenth inning, Abreu dropped a fly ball that would have been a double play had he caught it. His throw also got away, allowing the hitter to advance to second and later score.

In the bottom of the tenth, now down by two, Siegler scored the ghost runner with a single, pinch-hitter Masataka Yoshida then jumped on the first pitch Fernando Cruz threw him to put two runners in scoring position with a double into right field. Tsung-Che Cheng’s sacrifice fly next tied it before Jarren Duran ended the game by shooting a 1-1 slider into right field, finding green grass with the Yankees playing with five infielders, 5 to 4, Red Sox and a four game sweep.

With the Nationals in town on June 29th the Sox didn't let up. Willson Contreras hit a ball waaaay back for his 18th home run of the season. It was incredible to see him overcome with emotion given everything happening in his home country of Venezuela right now. Then Caleb Durbin also took a pitch into the Monster seats. Before the Nationals even recorded five outs, the Red Sox had five runs to go with eight hits. winning 6 to 3 at the end, for their season-high fifth straight win.

The winning streak came to an abrupt halt by the Sox regressing instead of gaining momentum, losing the next two games to Washington in an underwhelming manner. It was a perfect embodiment of this miserable season. They scored just three runs in the two games and went 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position.

On to Anaheim and a stalwart effort from Jake Bennett on July 3rd. Bennett proved he belongs and quickly got out to a confident start, with a 1-2-3 first inning; he repeated that feat in each frame through the fourth, not allowing a hit until the fifth and never giving up a walk. Then, in the ninth, Aroldis Chapman broke Hoyt Wilhelm’s record for most strikeouts by a reliever—not a closer, but all relievers with 1364 career Ks.

Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras led the way for the Red Sox as the club beat the Angels 8-1 the next night on July 4th. Contreras got the offense going with a three-run home run in the top of the first, and Gray held the Angels at bay by allowing one run over six strong innings to improve to 10-1 on the season. A four-run fifth inning capped off by Romy Gonzalez’s two-run home run sealed the deal.

The Red Sox completed the sweep of the Angels via the long ball on July 5th. Jarren Duran’s 13th home run of the year soared 422 feet to center to knot the game at two in the top of the second. The Sox biggest bat came through when Willson Contreras sent a pitch 446 feet to left-center. It was is the seventh 20-homer season of Contreras’ 11-year career.

Next, in Chicago on July 7th, powered by a dominant outing by Payton Tolle and a pair of second-inning home runs, the Red Sox beat the American League Central-leading Chicago White Sox 8-1, giving the club their fourth straight win and their ninth in the last 11 games. Andruw Monasterio broke the ice with a solo home run, and a couple of batters later Ceddanne Rafaela followed with a two-run shot to make it 3-0.

Then on July 8th, Jake Bennett shut out Chicago, 5 to 0. He allowed four hits, all singles, one walk on 81 pitches (53 for strikes). It was the second time he pitched at least six scoreless innings without allowing an extra base hit. In the process the Sox were now 32-31 under Chad Tracy. The Sox rotation has stacked up 15 scoreless starts of at least six innings. Bennett joined Jon Lester (2006) as the only Red Sox this century to throw 45.0+ innings and post a sub-3.00 ERA in their first 8 MLB outings.

The Red Sox weren’t exactly sure what they would get from Patrick Sandoval when he stepped on the mound for his first big-league game in 748 days. They got as much, if not more than they hoped in July 9th's afternoon series finale in Chicago. Between Sandoval’s 4 1/3 innings of one-run ball and a stupendous collective effort by the bullpen, the Red Sox completed a 2-1 victory and series sweep of the White Sox.

At Citi Field on July 10th, Sonny Gray (11-1, 2.54 ERA) settled in and Anthony Siegler's ball clanked off the left field foul pole, as the Sox went on to beat the Mets, 6 to 2. Gray went six innings, gave up five hits, one earned run, walked one, struck out three. Wilyer Abreu punctuated things in the ninth with a two-run shot of his own. The Sox had seven wins in a row and were 15-5 in their last 20.

The Red Sox got key contributions from Andruw Monasterio and designated hitter Masataka Yoshida, whose two-run homers powered the offense on July 11th to a 4-0 win. Rookie Eduardo Rivera gave the Red Sox exactly what they needed and then some in the team’s ninth shutout win of the year. His 64-pitch outing included just one hit, two walks and three strikeouts. The Sox were 8-0 to begin a road trip for the first time since 1977.

In the series finale on July 12th, the Mets took a 2-0 lead into the top of the ninth against a Red Sox team that entered the day 0-43 when trailing after eight innings. Make that 1-43 when trailing after eight, thanks to an absolute stunner. With patience and small-ball poise, the Sox tied the game in the top of the ninth, forced extra innings and took a 3-2 lead in the 10th before holding on for their third series sweep of the road trip (and fourth in their last five).

Hapless teams don’t rally as the Red Sox did. They don’t strand ghost-runners on second base in a one-run game. They don’t have Brayan Bello with an ERA over six show up and throw 4.1 solid innings. Everything was just going the Red Sox way right now. The Red Sox went 14-5 in their last nineteen games and were 1/2 game out of the third wild card spot. The Sox had gone 14-5 in their last nineteen games, swept three consecutive series and by the All Star Break were the hottest team in all of baseball.