For the first time in four years, the Boston Red Sox are playing October baseball after a roller coaster season that ultimately ended in success.
From superstar Rafael Devers’ 0-21 hitless streak at the beginning of the season, to his blockbuster midseason trade to the San Francisco Giants, postseason chances looked bleak for Boston. But when all hope was lost, the team caught fire right before the All-Star break.
A 10-game winning streak, highlighted by centerfielder Ceddane Rafaela’s walk-off homerun over the Green Monster, revived the team’s momentum in early July. It also birthed a now infamous quote by infielder Romy Gonzalez, saying he has been “tremendously locked in” when asked about how well he had been hitting left-handed pitching.
The new faces for the Red Sox this season can also be described as “tremendously locked in.” AL Cy Young candidate Garrett Crochet has been everything Boston has wished for in an ace of the pitching staff and more since trading for him. Crochet finished the regular season with a 2.59 ERA, and an MLB-leading 255 strikeouts and 205.1 innings pitched. All-Stars Alex Bregman and Aroldis Chapman have supplied a strong veteran presence in the field and bullpen, respectively, especially with Chapman’s impressive 50 consecutive batters retired streak across 17 appearances.
The Red Sox’s familiar faces in the organization were also fixtures in the lineup. Shortstop Trevor Story finally put together a completely healthy season during his Red Sox tenure, producing a respectable .265/.310/.436 slashline, and stealing 31 bases. Outfielder Wilyer Abreu was much of the same player he was in his rookie year while still providing elite defense in right field. His running mate in center field, Rafaela, slightly improved his offensive numbers and may be a candidate for a Gold Glove award.
Boston also capitalized on their elite farm system, calling up top prospects Marcelo Mayer and Roman Anthony in late May and early June. While Mayer displayed some growing pains offensively getting used to major league pitching, he was able to contribute defensively amid Bregman’s right quad injury on May 23. However, Anthony’s bat jumpstarted Boston’s offense as he took over the leadoff spot in the lineup, and slashed .292/.396/.859 before injuring his oblique in early September.
Injuries have been an issue for the Red Sox this year and may ultimately be what causes the team to have an early exit in October. Along with Bregman’s injury earlier in the year, and Mayer and Anthony’s more recently, Boston has been without first baseman Triston Casas, who ruptured his patellar tendon on May 2.
The pitching staff hasn’t been at full strength either. Despite finishing as the 7th-ranked overall pitching staff by Fangraphs, Boston has been without 2024 All-Star pitcher Tanner Houck, who only started nine games before requiring Tommy John surgery in May. Tommy John surgery is an operation that repairs damaged ligaments in the elbow and is a common procedure for pitchers. Other key pitchers like Hunter Dobbins and Kutter Crawford have been lost for the rest of the season, too, so it will be interesting to see how long starters will go before handing the ball off to the second-best bullpen in all of baseball by Fangraphs.
Regardless of who was pitching, hitting, or fielding for Boston throughout the season, they improved in three major categories that will make a difference this October.
There’s no denying that the Red Sox have a flair for the dramatic when the game gets tight. They led the majors in walkoff wins this season with 12, and Chapman has been absolutely lights out when he comes into the ninth inning. The 37-year-old just put up the second-best ERA of his career at 1.17 and will surely be in contention for AL reliever of the year. The Red Sox have also looked extremely comfortable at home, boasting a 48-33 record in Fenway Park, the best mark since 2021, the last time they made the playoffs.
The most important record stat that will make a difference for the Red Sox’s playoff run is its record against teams in the division. The Red Sox finished 32-20 against the AL East this season, tied for the third-best record by a team against their own division. But why does playing against the AL East matter in the playoffs when they potentially will play teams from any other division? Simple answer: Boston is renewing their rivalry against the New York Yankees—in the Bronx—in the wildcard round.
The best rivalry in sports is once again gracing the playoff stage for the sixth time in history. The Yankees had gotten the better of Boston in their first two meetings in the 1999 and 2003 ALCS, but since then, the Red Sox have won every matchup. These series include the Red Sox’s improbable 3-0 series comeback in the 2004 ALCS, 2018 ALDS, and 2021 wildcard round.
Boston doesn’t need to rely on history to have hope in this meeting; their record against the Yankees this season is 9-4, with five of those wins coming in New York. Further, they have a +15 run differential in the season series. Whatever the end result might be, this series should be exciting.
Game one of the wildcard round starts at 6 p.m. EST on ESPN. Crochet will get the start for the Red Sox, and the Yankees will give the nod to their ace, all-star Max Fried. Let October baseball begin.
