Now that the Red Sox are above .500, expect them to stay there
By Joe Meehan
Mandatory Credit: Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports
I was starting to think it wasn’t possible. Being above .500 seemed like a pipe dream. As Conor Duffy pointed out in his game recap, it took the Red Sox nine tries to finally get above that mark. But now that they’re there, will they ever fall back below it? My guess is no.
The schedule certainly plays in their favor. The Sox have an off-day today and then will take on the Twins in Minnesota tomorrow. The Twins are not as good as their mediocre 17-19 record indicates, in large part because their starting rotation is brutal. They’ll put up some runs (6th most in the league), but the Sox should feast on their starters. A look at the probable pitching matchups:
Game 1: Felix Doubront (1-3, 5.09 ERA) vs. Ricky Nolasco (2-3, 5.64 ERA)
Game 2: Jake Peavy (1-1, 3.09 ERA) vs. Kevin Correia (1-4, 6.34 ERA)
Game 3: Clay Buchholz (2-3, 6.44 ERA) vs. Phil Hughes (4-1, 3.92 ERA)
Alright, so things don’t look so pretty on the Sox side either without John Lackey or Jon Lester going. But as long as they get decent performances from all three, their offense, which has shown considerable improvement as of late, should be able to carry them. Dustin Pedroia has found a comfort zone atop the Sox order, and also seems to have found a little bit of his power stroke. Mike Napoli continues to get on base at a high rate despite striking out at an almost equally high rate. Even A.J. Pierzynski is swinging the bat well (#TeamPierzynski). Everything finally seems like it’s starting to come together at the same time and I fully expect them to take at least two out of three.
Things certainly won’t be easy after Minnesota. The Sox return home for a three game series against the Tigers, with Lester and Lackey matching up in the first two games against Scherzer and Porcello, respectively. That series is followed by a visit from the Blue Jays. But I just don’t think we’re going to have to worry about the struggle to get above .500 anymore. This team is too talented to dip back below.