Red Sox schedule a grueling test down the stretch
If you've been following the 2023 Boston Red Sox closely, you know that this season has been full of euphoric highs and frustrating lows.
They're up, they're down; they're up, they're down. That's been the story of the Red Sox this season. They'll get hot and win five straight, and suddenly things will implode and they'll lose five straight. The Red Sox have subjectively failed to take advantage of the schedule and have, at times, played down to their competition.
May and June featured a handful of winnable series that went to the opposition. Boston opened the month of May with a four-game sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays but then proceeded to get swept by the St. Louis Cardinals at home, swept by the Los Angeles Angels, and swept in a two-game series by the Cincinnati Reds. June brought its own frustrations as Boston dropped series to Tampa Bay, Cleveland, Colorado, Minnesota, Chicago [White Sox], and Miami. July was a much better month for the Red Sox as they closed out the month 15-8, however, that .652 winning percentage could have likely been higher had the Red Sox not dropped the series to Oakland and lost seven of their last 11 to close out July.
The skid continued as the Red Sox went on to get swept by the Toronto Blue Jays in three at home, which many Red Sox fans and even analysts referenced as the death note to the 2023 Boston Red Sox season. It's been a roller coaster month of August as Boston followed up that sweep with consecutive series wins against Kansas City and Detroit, respectively. Now, the real test begins. The daunting remaining schedule for the Boston Red Sox is staring them down, and could be what keeps this team from October.
Remaining in August, Boston heads on a 10-day road trip where they'll face Washington, New York [Yankees], and Houston. With no off day in between, the Sox then return home for a six-game homestand against the NL West-leading Dodgers, and another go-around with the Astros which wraps up 16 consecutive games without an off day. The rest of August will be an absolute grind for the Red Sox, and September doesn't let up.
The Red Sox open the month of September with a six-game road trip against the Royals and the Rays before returning home to face the Orioles and Yankees. September also features road series against Toronto, Texas and Baltimore. If the Red Sox have any hopes of making it to the postseason at all, they'll have to play exceptional baseball for these last seven weeks.