The Boston Red Sox have limited time left to make a run at October, but a series win over Cleveland could put them on the right track.
The Boston Red Sox went 3-12 from July 28th up until August 12th. However, provided a second wind, Boston was able to take 2 of 3 games from red-hot Cleveland and once again spark thoughts of October baseball.
With the amount of heavy frustration that’s been tossed upon Red Sox Nation in this 2019 season, it’s likely that not many fans have much hope left for this year’s edition of Boston’s favorite ballclub.
Coming into the season fresh off a World Series championship where the bullpen was a serious issue last year, Dave Dombrowski failed to address it halfway through this season, after watching it only continue to diminish in talent.
Although, through the last handful of games, Alex Cora has been managing like it’s the World Series with all-hands-on-deck with arms coming out of the bullpen left and right to lock down games. Much needed wins were picked up in the middle game and the latter contest of the 3-game series with the Indians at Progressive Field this early this week.
Many pessimists were quick to say that Carlos Santana drilled the final nail in the Red Sox coffin after a walk-off home run in the tenth inning on Monday night, but a great response from a surprisingly rather resilient Sox bunch made things a bit more interesting at the hands of the surging Indians.
Now, with the lineup full of moxie, Boston returns home to Fenway Park in search of some revenge with their division foe, the Baltimore Orioles, who were able to take 2 of 3 from Boston in their own right a couple of weeks back to add insult to injury.
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Including the series with Baltimore, the Red Sox will play 12 of their next 14 games against sub-.500 ballclubs and it goes without saying that it’s a stretch Boston absolutely must capitalize on. The 14-game stretch will take them into September, where they’ll see seven straight games against the division-leading Twins and Yankees.
If Boston is going to see themselves get back into the Wild Card race, they need to take care of business against Baltimore, Philadelphia, San Diego, Colorado and Los Angeles.
For those that are interested (like myself) in scoreboard watching, the team Boston is chasing in both the division and the Wild Card, Tampa Bay, has about the easiest next week one ballclub could have in Detroit, Seattle, and Baltimore.
As for the Oakland A’s, their road is a bit tougher, battling the Astros, Yankees, and Giants, who are still competing hard in the National League Wild Card race themselves.
This next week and a half is prime time for the Red Sox to make up ground in the race towards the postseason – and maybe the only chance they get for the rest of the season. While it’s a longshot, there’s no clock in this sport, and for good reason.
What do YOU think the last month and a half of the season has in store for the Red Sox? Let us know in the comments below!