Sox Sweep Again, Move into 2nd Place

Less than 2 months ago, most Red Sox fans, myself included, were on the brink of writing of the 2010 season. The team was 20-20 sitting in 4th place in the AL East and more importantly, was playing bad baseball. The pitching staff was struggling and the offense, although solid, was injured and inconsistent. Since that point, the Sox have stormed back by playing with energy and focus and are now sitting with an astounding 43-28 record and sit tied with Tampa Bay Rays, just 1 game behind the 1st place New York Yankees.

During these past 31 games (since May 19th), the Sox are 23-8 and have scored an average of 5.8 runs per game and have allowed slightly under 3.5 runs per game. The combination of David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia and Adrian Beltre all getting hot at the dish at the same time has been magic for the Sox offense. Their pitching staff has held up their end of the bargain as well, with Clay Buchholz sitting tied in the AL for the most wins (10) and 2nd in era by just .02 points (2.47) to David Price. Both Jon Lester and John Lackey have a solid 8 wins each on the year.

It is amazing to think that the Sox are doing almost all of their damage without Josh Beckett and Jacoby Ellsbury for nearly the entire run thanks to injuries as well as other outfielders Jeremy Hermida, Mike Cameron and J.D. Drew all taking turns on the injured list. The Sox offense has been sparked significantly thanks to AAA call-ups Darnell McDonald and young sensation Daniel Nava, who have not only played solid defensively, but have both made significant clutch contributions in the batters box. It goes to show you the value of a strong minor league system and why Theo has been careful to continuously build up the system from A to the majors.

It’s tough to scoreboard-watch in June, but it is truly amazing to consider how far this team has come and how close they are to taking the divisional lead. With 91 games remaining, the Sox have placed themselves right in the thick of things and don’t have any plans on falling backward anytime soon. Strap yourselves in, because this season is just starting to get interesting.