Surging Red Sox Perfectly Positioned Ahead Of Crucial Divisional Series
The Boston Red Sox are rolling, and it couldn’t come at a better time.
Coming off back-to-back sweeps for the first time since 2022, the surging Red Sox are now a season-best four games over .500 and tied with the Seattle Mariners for the third American League Wild Card spot. Their six-game winning streak is the longest active one in baseball, and they’ve won eight of their last nine games.
Boston is peaking at the perfect time, especially with the Tampa Bay Rays coming to town for a critical four-game series starting on Thursday night.
The Red Sox’s offense is on fire, averaging 8.7 runs per game over their last 11. They’ve scored double-digit runs six times during that span, giving their pitchers plenty of run support.
They’re getting deeper and healthier, too, with Masataka Yoshida returning to the lineup on Wednesday and Alex Bregman expected to be activated from the injured list this weekend.
Boston’s top arms are also well-rested after not seeing much action during the lopsided sweeps of the Washington Nationals and Colorado Rockies. Alex Cora will have the full bullpen at his disposal.
The Red Sox also have home-field advantage, especially after winning 11 of their last 14 games at Fenway Park.
Meanwhile, the Rays are slumping. They’re 2-4 on their current road trip and have lost four straight series, going 4-8 over their last 12 games.
Boston’s 4-2 against Tampa Bay this year and trails the Rays by just 1.5 games in the American League East standings. This is a massive series for both teams heading into the All-Star Break.
If the Red Sox win it, they’ll pass Tampa Bay for third place in the division and move past them in the Wild Card standings as well. If they split it, they’ll at least hold steady.
Boston’s been beating up on some bad teams lately, so this series will be a better gauge of where the team actually stands, especially with tough series coming up against the Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers immediately following the All-Star Break.
The Red Sox have all the momentum on their side — now they just need to keep it up.