Red Sox Soar Up MLB Power Rankings After Sweeping Yankees

An eventful Sunday night turned the spotlight away from the Boston Red Sox’s huge weekend.

A week that began with Roman Anthony’s promotion ended with Rafael Devers getting traded to the San Francisco Giants. In between those major developments, the Red Sox won two of three games over the Tampa Bay Rays and swept the New York Yankees.

Boston improved to 37-36, ascending over .500 for the first time since May 12. MLB.com’s latest power rankings noticed the Red Sox’s recent surge.

After winning seven of the last nine games against American League East competition, the Red Sox climbed from No. 20 to 14. Rather than reflecting on the critical hot streak, Will Leitch acknowledged the elephant in the room.

“It’s not often Boston fans watch their team sweep the Yankees and have it be the last thing on their mind, but, well, that’s how much of a stunner that Rafael Devers trade was,” Leitch wrote.

The Red Sox held the Yankees to four combined runs over three uncharacteristically low-scoring games between the longtime rivals. Boston’s starting pitchers allowed one run all series, an Aaron Judge home run off Garrett Crochet in the ninth inning after the ace had struck out the reigning American League MVP three straight times.

Judge struck out three times in each game and went hitless over the weekend. Rookie Hunter Dobbins tossed six strong innings on Saturday, and Brayan Bello worked seven shutout frames on a career-high 114 pitches in Sunday’s 2-0 win.

The Red Sox now trail the Yankees by 6 1/2 games in the division standings and sit 1/2 game behind the Seattle Mariners for the AL’s final wild-card spot. Yet they must maintain their momentum without Devers, who led the team in home runs (15), RBI (58) and OBP (.401) before the unexpected blockbuster.

Boston can improve its playoff positioning during a three-game road series at Seattle. The first matchup starts Monday at 9:40 p.m. ET.