The Boston Red Sox hit rock bottom in June — sitting at 32–46, without a manager, and nowhere near the playoff conversation. Since then, they’ve gone 31–5 in their last 36 games, matched the longest winning streak in franchise history, and as of August 7 they’re 63–51 and just half a game behind the Yankees for second place in the AL East. All of this without their ace starter or their top prospect.
The Worst Start and the Comeback Nobody Saw Coming
On April 25, Boston fired Alex Cora after a 10–17 start and handed the reins to Chad Tracy, who had been managing the Triple-A affiliate in Worcester. By late June the record had sunk to 32–46 — fourteen games under .500 and seemingly dead in the water.
Then something nobody scripted happened. From July 3 to July 20, the Red Sox won 15 straight games — matching the same streak the 1946 Ted Williams–era club put together, the longest in franchise history. They didn’t break it; the run ended in the second game of a doubleheader against Baltimore on July 23. But the damage to the rest of the American League was already done. From that low of 32–46, Boston swung 26 games in the standings in less than six weeks.
Who’s Been Carrying This Team
The irony of this run is that it happened without the two players Boston bet on most heading into the year.
Garrett Crochet — last year’s AL Cy Young runner-up with an 18–5 record, a 2.59 ERA, and 255 strikeouts — has been out since April 25 with shoulder and lat inflammation. As of August 4, he was only throwing at 15–18 meters and nowhere close to returning.
Roman Anthony, the 22-year-old considered the future of the franchise, has missed time since May 4 with a torn finger ligament and only just resumed batting practice that same week.
Without them, others stepped up:
- Willson Contreras leads the lineup with a .288 average, 23 home runs, 70 RBI, and a .936 OPS — producing nearly an extra hit above the league-average hitter every time he steps to the plate.
- Ceddanne Rafaela is hitting .287 with 15 home runs, 16 stolen bases, and a team-leading 123 hits.
- Wilyer Abreu has added 20 home runs.
- Sonny Gray is 14–2 with a 2.78 ERA on the mound.
- Aroldis Chapman has locked down the closer role with 27 saves and a 1.86 ERA — fewer than two runs allowed per nine innings.
- The full pitching staff carries a 3.50 ERA, second-best in the American League.
At the trade deadline, Boston also added catcher Adley Rutschman and infielder Curtis Mead, though both arrived on the injured list.
What’s Ahead — and How High the Ceiling Could Go
As of August 7, Boston has won eight straight. They swept the NL West-leading Dodgers on the road and swept the White Sox at Fenway. The upcoming schedule is friendly — the Athletics, Blue Jays, and Pirates — before a critical series in New York late in August.
In the Wild Card standings, the Red Sox sit second in the AL, half a game behind the Yankees. Tampa Bay leads the division at 67–46, five games up, so the real fight is for the second Wild Card spot — and for second place in the East, which would mean a playoff bye over New York.
The factor that could raise the ceiling on all of this: Crochet and Anthony returning in September. A full rotation plus a healthy lineup would make this team — one that already matched an 80-year-old franchise record without its two biggest stars — one of the most dangerous stories in the postseason picture.
For now, with eight straight wins and 31 of their last 36, the Red Sox are the hottest team in baseball. And the numbers back up every word of that.
