The Boston Red Sox's franchise record-tying 15-game win streak may have come and gone, but they haven't shown any signs of slowing down at the plate and on the mound. The Red Sox have taken off on another win streak of seven games and it includes a sweep of the team most fans would least expect: the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Boston didn't play its best baseball at the start of its third and final West Coast road trip of the year. Against the A's in Sacramento, the Red Sox scraped together three wins in the four-game series. They didn't win a game by more than two runs, they returned to leaving men on base and failing to plate runners in scoring position, as they did at the beginning of the season.
In LA, it was a completely different story. Boston dropped 20 runs on the Dodgers, including a stunning nine-run performance in the series opener. The Sox's entire offense has been working more cohesively since their winning ways began, but Ceddanne Rafaela, in particular, stood out in LA with four home runs and five RBI.
The Dodgers might be discouraged after facing the Red Sox, despite landing twice-reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal before the trade deadline. Los Angeles hasn't won a game since Boston swept it handily. The Chicago Cubs swept the Dodgers in three games after the Sox got through with them.
The Dodgers have lost six games in a row beginning with Red Sox sweep
LA's current losing streak is its longest of the season and the first time its lost six consecutive games since 2020. With any luck, the Arizona Diamondbacks will continue it into their next series — the D-Backs hold second place in the National League West and every baseball fan outside of LA would love to see them inch closer to first place.
Especially after their acquisition of Skubal, fans and reporters foresee the Dodgers as inevitable World Series participants again. In contrast, the AL is wide open and the red-hot Red Sox have been clawing their way up the standings for the last month. If they can continue winning at anything close to their July clip, they could be destined for a Fall Classic rematch with LA, and we all remember how the last one went.
There's still a long way to go until the postseason and the AL Wild Card picture is tightening up. Before the Sox's evening game on August 6, there are five AL clubs within two games of the third Wild Card spot the Texas Rangers hold so precariously. If the Sox want any hope of facing the Dodgers again, they have to stay hot through the last six weeks of the season. Hopefully, LA continues on its downward trajectory — if it does, CBA negotiations may be a little easier this offseason (and it would feel great to see them lose).
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