Red Sox Standings Watch: Merry month of May has team on the rise
By Sean Penney
With a strong finish to the month of May, the Boston Red Sox are trending in the right direction and closing in on the top spot in the AL East.
The Boston Red Sox are on the rise after breaking free from their early season mediocrity.
The team posted a solid 16-12 record in May, which was an improvement over the previous month yet still short of elite territory. It’s how the Red Sox finished the month that sparks optimism.
Boston has won eight of their last 10 games, a stretch that included a season-high six game winning streak. Now that’s more like it! After an opening month plagued by injuries and inconsistency, we’re starting to see the Red Sox become the team we expected entering the season.
The bats are back! Boston scored the second most runs in the league last month, while ranking first in OBP, second in batting average and third in OPS. They even managed to climb closer to the middle of the pack in home runs, an improvement over finishing a distant last in April.
David Price is back! His first start of the season came with mixed results but getting his $217 million arm back in the rotation has to be viewed as a positive. Even his harshest critics have to admit he’s an upgrade over the likes of Kyle Kendrick and Hector Velazquez – fringe pitchers they were forced to shuffle through in Price’s absence.
Pablo Sandoval is back! Fine, so we’re less excited about this one. He did pick up three hits and drive in the winning run in his return to the lineup, so maybe he’ll add value after all.
While this could merely be a hot streak that could flame out at any time, the return of some key players and the offense finding its groove are signs that the Red Sox are back in the playoff hunt.