The Boston Red Sox had a chance to win their July 21 series-opening game against the Philadelphia Phillies when it went to the 10th inning tied 2-2. Boston failed to score in the top of the frame, and the Phillies threatened with jammed bases after Jordan Hicks walked Otto Kemp and intentionally walked Sox killer Max Kepler.
Edmundo Sosa followed, and he didn't even have to swing to plate the winning run. Sosa began to swing at the fifth ball he saw from Hicks, but held up as it landed in Carlos Narváez's glove outside of the strike zone. Sosa's bat clipped Narváez's glove, and despite the umpires' ruling of a checked swing, Sosa was also awarded first base on catcher's interference.
The demoralizing loss was the nail in the coffin of a potential momentum swing after Boston staved off a sweep at the hands of the Cubs the night before. But positive momentum made all the difference for Walker Buehler during his start against the Phillies.
Buehler allowed one run on six hits over seven innings in his longest start since June 11 and just his third seven-inning outing of the year. He kept the Sox in the game as they faced Zack Wheeler, one of the best starting pitchers in the game for years. The veteran has looked more like his pre-Tommy John surgery self in his last three starts, and he's posted a 3.00 ERA with eight strikeouts over 18 innings since the beginning of July. In contrast, Buehler logged an 11.07 ERA over four starts in June.
Walker Buehler's third-straight solid start overshadowed by Red Sox's strange loss to Phillies
7 innings of absolute work. pic.twitter.com/KIugWaccQQ
— Red Sox (@RedSox) July 22, 2025
Buehler's season ERA is down to 5.72 after a stretch with a 6-plus metric, which is a great sign for Boston as the trade deadline approaches. The righty's weeks of struggles emphasized the Sox's need for starting pitching help at the deadline, and it put extra pressure on Brayan Bello and Lucas Giolito to maintain their recent torrid stretches on the mound.
With Buehler in a better place, there's more room for Bello and Giolito to come back to earth, and Boston may be able to get by with the middle-of-the-road pitching help that is likely to be available at the trade deadline. There are believed to be few to no top-of-the-rotation starters available before the end of July, and Buehler's recent improvements may take some pressure off the front office.
The Red Sox still absolutely need another rotation arm despite Buehler's latest performances — his track record from the first half of the season is too inconsistent to bank on him. But Boston is finally seeing the Buehler it expected when it paid him $21.5 million over the offseason, just months after he closed the 2024 World Series against the Yankees.