Red Sox Standings Watch: Merry month of May has team on the rise

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.

AL East Standings

Boston’s recent surge sends them into June in second place in the AL East.

At 29-23, the Red Sox enter the day trailing the division leading New York Yankees by two games. Boston managed to pick up a couple of games in the standings with their strong finish in May and have a pivotal meeting with the Yankees next week in New York.

The Red Sox have improved their run differential to +34, which ranks third in the AL behind the Yankees and a Houston Astros team that is running away with their division out West. Boston’s rise in this category has been fueled by a few offensive explosions, as they scored double-digit runs five times last month. The pitching staff also allowed two runs or less on eight occasions in May.

The teams at the bottom of the division have been heating up lately as well. The Toronto Blue Jays enter the month in last place, although at only 5.5 games back they are hardly out of the race. This division is still very much up for grabs.

Falling

Baltimore Orioles

When we last checked in on the standings a month ago the O’s were tied for the division lead. A lot has changed since then, as Baltimore has dropped eight of their last 10 to fall into third place.

Baltimore remains three games over .500, although they won’t have a winning record for long if they can’t stop their current slide. Their -5 run differential suggests they should already be under that mark.

More from Red Sox News

• Red Sox Nation deserves far more from Fenway Sports Group
• Bizarre trade deadline comes back to haunt Red Sox after Nathan Eovaldi departure
• Red Sox’ Moneyball-style offseason continues with Corey Kluber contract
• Rich Hill’s Red Sox departure puts him within striking distance of unique MLB record
• Red Sox offseason takes another nasty hit with Nathan Eovaldi departure

The offense appears dangerous on paper, although the Orioles bats have been a disappointment this season, ranking 10th in runs scored and OPS. This is a team that relies on getting guys on base and blasting multi-run homers but that strategy is backfiring. Baltimore is middle of the pack in home runs and 13th with a dreadful .311 OBP.

Chris Davis leads the team with 11 home runs. He’s also hitting a paltry .229 this season. His average and OPS actually are about the same as last season, it’s the home run and RBI pace that are lagging.

The most baffling reason for Baltimore’s struggles is the decline of their superstar third baseman. Manny Machado enters the month hitting .205 with a .691 OPS. This is a three-time All-Star who finished in the top-5 in MVP voting in each of the last two seasons. Why is he suddenly hitting like Pablo Sandoval?

The good news for O’s fans is that the power is still there, with 10 homers and 10 doubles. The brutal batting average is the result of a well below-average .218 BABIP, a staggering 85 points below his career rate. Considering he’s still hitting the ball hard, Machado’s offensive woes can primarily be chalked up to bad luck that will almost certainly reverse course at some point.

Wild Card Standings

As the Red Sox continue their pursuit of catching the Yankees at the top of their division, they can take solace in knowing that if the season ended today they would still be in the playoffs.

Boston holds the top Wild Card spot, which would give them home-field advantage in a potential one-game playoff. Not that they should get too comfortable though. They have only a 1.5 game edge over the Minnesota Twins, who are percentage points ahead of Baltimore and Cleveland for the second spot.

Then you have the Rays lurking just outside of that group and the Toronto Blue Jays are picking up steam with eight wins in their last ten games.

Texas and Detroit are below .500 teams yet still remain within three games of a playoff spot, putting them squarely in the hunt. Los Angeles is likely to plummet with Mike Trout on the disabled list and enough damage may be done to their record by the time he returns that even his super hero talents won’t save them.

Next: Red Sox lack All-Star votes

It’s still early enough in the season that some pretenders may still be masquerading as contenders. A healthy Red Sox team is certainly capable of being a contender and they are finally starting to show it.