After a surprisingly rough start to the 2026 season that has left the Boston Red Sox with a 7-11 record after their first 18 games, they have a gauntlet of games to fight through to end April.
On April 17, the Red Sox will begin a four game series against the Detroit Tigers at Fenway Park. The New York Yankees will arrive after them, then Boston will head to Baltimore and Toronto for a stretch of divisional matchups, which are always difficult in the American League East.
Boston's lost series against the Minnesota Twins was particularly brutal because Garrett Crochet got truly rocked for the first time and Sonny Gray's outing was far from perfect. The Sox staved off a sweep in the final game, however, when the offense woke up to score nine runs for a 9-5 result. It was the first time the Red Sox won a game during which their opponent scored five or more runs.
This is partly because Red Sox pitching hasn't lived up to the offseason hype, — they're 0-8 when their starters allow four or more runs, which has happened far too many times — but the offense has also been streaky and lackluster. The Tigers and Yankees present a challenge in this regard, as their rotations feature some fearsome arms.
Red Sox could have chance to kick ugly pitching trends against Tigers' middling offense
The Red Sox will face Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal, Framber Valdez and Jack Flaherty over their next four games, and none will be an easy battle. Skubal is one of the best pitchers in the game, as evidenced by his two consecutive Cy Young Awards, and Valdez is just a few tiers behind. Tigers pitchers have the eighth-best ERA in the league at 3.66 while the Red Sox have the sixth-worst at 4.55.
Like the Red Sox, the Tigers underwhelmed in the early goings of the season and they sit in third place in the American League Central. Both teams were shocked by the Minnesota Twins, whose offense brutalized Red Sox starting pitching and bested the Tigers to the tune of a four-game sweep. Unfortunately, the Tigers enter the series at Fenway on a six-game winning streak, so they have good vibes on their side.
To beat the Tigers, the Red Sox will have to find a way to come together. So far, when the pitching has gone well, the bats have largely disappeared and vice versa, or neither side plays to expectations. The Tigers' offense should be easy enough to beat, especially if Ranger Suárez and Brayan Bello can channel their previous outings, their best of the year. Detroit's pitching will be difficult to work around, but the offense needs to become more consistent sooner rather than later.
The Red Sox are a team fueled by momentum and their upcoming series against the Tigers, just before the Yankees come to town for the first time, is as good an opportunity as any to build some.
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