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Just a few weeks ago, the Boston Red Sox were one of Major League Baseball's biggest disappointments.
Despite their hefty payroll and a roster filled with stars and exciting young prospects, injuries had ravaged much of the team's depth through the first half of the season. Entering July, the Red Sox were dead last in the American League East at 37-48. They had the third-worst record in the AL as a whole, were 14 games out of first place and seemed posed to become sellers at the trade deadline. As recently as June 21, they had just an 8.4% chance of reaching the postseason, per FanGraphs.
Then, history.
Even without key players like Garrett Crochet, Trevor Story and Roman Anthony, the Red Sox entered a day-night doubleheader against the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday having won 14 games in a row. Sure enough, they jumped out to a four-run lead they never relinquished, with the game fittingly ending on a great defensive play by shortstop Tsung-Che Chung.
That 15th consecutive win tied a franchise record set 80 years ago, and became just the eighth winning streak of 15 or more since 1961. And the first since the St. Louis Cardinals in 2021.
"You keep stacking one win over another, and then you get close, and once you get within three or four, they start to feel like playoff games because you want to get there," infielder Caleb Durbin this week, per MLB.com. "But yeah, then you look back at it, and think about where you're doing it and how long this franchise has existed. It's pretty incredible."
Wednesday night's game provided a golden opportunity to set a new franchise record with 16 in a row. Still at Fenway Park and facing a struggling Orioles team. But the Orioles turned the tables, scoring four runs of their own in the top of the first. Jonathan Rodriguez's double off the Green Monster helped force Eduardo Rivera from the game in the first inning.
The Red Sox couldn't get anything going offensively though, falling 5-1 and coming up just short of even more history.
Still, what an incredible achievement. It not only turned their season around but also upended the American League East and postseason races. They went from being buried and seemingly out of the playoff picture before July to not losing a game from July 1 through July 22.
Before the loss in the night game, Boston's postseason probability had soared to 67% thanks to taking over sole possession of the third wild card spot in the AL. Remarkably, after the win in the day game, they moved to within six games of first in the AL East. Though the Rays win and Boston's loss made it seven entering Thursday.
From sellers to... buyers?
Crochet is hoping to return by the playoffs, but even with Ranger Suárez returning soon, Boston would love to acquire more starting pitching. Roman Anthony has yet to start swinging after tearing a ligament in his finger, and Trevor Story is still a ways away, meaning Boston could use offense too.
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All that raises the question, how have they done so much winning with all the injuries? A combination of timely hitting, quality pitching and, of course, luck. Boston has the best team ERA in baseball in July, and an .877 OPS with runners in scoring position over the same timeframe. That'll work.
15 games in a row is remarkable, especially with those injuries. And Red Sox fans can now dream of getting Anthony, Story and Suarez back for a playoff run. With Crochet looming if they get there. Not too shabby, considering where they were entering July.
Original article source: Boston Red Sox 15-game winning streak finally comes to an end, one short of setting franchise record
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