Red Sox continue to surge but their season will be decided in July

The Red Sox must survive the month of July to see the postseason

What a turn of events the last few weeks has seen for the Boston Red Sox. From the absolute basement of the American League East to sitting in second place with the top Wild Card spot in the standings. I believe we all knew that this team was far better than they performed in April and May but I also believe none of us expected this strong of a turnaround. Things have been pretty sweet as of late but there’s a storm about to hit Fenway Park.

The Red Sox did their jobs and took advantage of a light period in the schedule but now they’re about to enter what DraftKings’ Jared Carrabis has dubbed, “The Gauntlet.” Boston goes into today 11 games behind the first-place Yankees who seem impossible to catch so let’s move on from that. On the other hand, what we should be happy about is the fact that the Sox now sit in the Wild Card driver’s seat and have a 1.5-game lead in the standings.

We’ll see the fellas take on the Guardians again this afternoon with a chance to sweep yet another series and if they achieve the task it’ll be their second in a row. Battling Cleveland is already hard enough considering their lineup but things are about to get even more challenging. As MassLive’s Christopher Smith breaks down, 20 of the next 24 games will see the Red Sox go toe-to-toe with their AL East foes.

They’ll leave Cleveland tonight and head up north to Toronto for a three-game stand with the Blue Jays before a quick pitstop in Chicago and a return to Fenway Park. That return to Boston is where things really start to get stressful for the fellas as the Rays come to town for three games only to be followed by the Yankees for a quartet.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, the Red Sox then head to St. Petersburg for four before a trip to the Bronx for the final three games before the All-Star break. Then, because things don’t get any easier after the break, they have to dance with the Jays, Guardians, and Brewers, all more than formidable foes.

Since the change in tides began, we’ve seen the offense take off as he all expected it to and the pitching has been absolutely stellar. Whether the starting rotation or the bullpen, both sides of the staff have carried their weight far better than they did to open the campaign. Rafael Devers continues to thrive in 2022 while guys like Alex Verdugo and Trevor Story and are finding their way.

Boston is going to need every weapon in their arsenal to fend off the rest of the division and keep their postseason hopes alive. If they can weather the storm and keep riding this wave of momentum things could really line up for them in regards to making it back to October baseball. Luckily, the Red Sox will get some reinforcements soon as Nathan Eovaldi, Garrett Whitlock, Chris Sale, and Kiké Hernández will all be returning in the near future.

On top of that, the squad should also see the return of Josh Taylor and the debut of James Paxton soon, as well. As I mentioned above, they’re going to need everyone playing at their absolute best to make out to the other side of this stretch of schedule still sitting pretty in the standings. Getting those reinforcements back from the IL is a huge boost but Chaim Bloom should be a buyer as the Trade Deadline nears.

This team has more than proved that last season wasn’t a fluke and the start to this season was. The bats are white-hot and the pitching staff is shutting down some of the best hitters going today. Alex Cora has one hell of a job on his hands as the next month is going to be a massive test for this roster. If we know anything about Cora, no challenge is too difficult and he won’t let his guys lose sight of the goal.