Yes, the 2026 MLB season is still young, but Boston Red Sox fans are tired of hearing it. The team reached an abysmal 2-8 record to start the year after a crushing loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on April 6.
Little to nothing has gone Boston's way early in the campaign. The bats have awakened slightly since the first two series of the year, but it hasn't been enough to eek out more than two wins and maintain early leads. Starting pitchers haven't gone deep enough into games to avoid taxing the bullpen, which also looks out of sorts. The defense hasn't improved, and is actually worse than last year at this time, with an unacceptable 11 errors through 10 games.
Just when Sox fans didn't think it could get any worse, Tim Healey of The Boston Globe came through with an utterly grim report. Boston's 2-8 start has matched the team's worst record through 10 games in Red Sox history (subscription required).
Boston has only ever started this poorly nine other times, most recently in 2019, then back in 2011, two seasons Sox fans could stand to forget. The 2026 season will join the ranks of the ugliest in Boston's history if the Red Sox don't find a way to change their luck soon — making better swing decisions and panicking less on defense are an excellent place to start.
Red Sox have tied their worst 10-game start in franchise history, validating fans' early worries
The Red Sox's front office claimed its offseason strategy was to construct a team that could prevent runs, which hasn't worked out in any sense of the words. Boston's starters haven't been able to work late into games. They've posted a combined 46.2 innings through the first 10 games of the year, the eighth-fewest in the league. The Red Sox's -17 run differential is tied for fifth-worst.
Luckily, there are still five months of baseball to be played and plenty of time for Boston to turn its luck around. The Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles have also stumbled to begin the season, with 4-6 records through 10 games. The Red Sox have only won twice this year, but they're still very much within an arm's reach of some of the division's fiercest competition.
But if things don't change soon — and a quick change will be a tall order, since the Sox will be tasked with facing Brewers flamethrower Jacob Misiorowski on April 7 — Red Sox fans' early panic will be more than justified.