Fenway Mood Swings
Just a few weeks ago, the Boston Red Sox had dropped five straight games and sat with a record of 10-19. A team with this much talent heading into a season following an ALCS appearance came out of the gate performing at a level that was not up to par with what is demanded by manager Alex Cora, and the passionate Boston fans. The lack of a clear closer has hampered this team in finishing games as the Red Sox have already blown nine total saves and the calendar has not reached June. Boston has three players in the top 10 in hits in the American League, while the league-leading Yankees only have one. The statistics and the talent were going to catch up for Boston at some point during the season, and right now is the perfect time for a revival. Three games back of a playoff spot after the way this team started this season, there can be a lot said about the negativity spoken by the public surrounding the Red Sox in 2022.
The consistency still needs to be demonstrated each night out, but a four-game sweep of a squad that contended for the postseason last year just increases the confidence heading into one of the most crucial stretches of the 2022 campaign so far. A series against the White Sox on the road following a five-game win streak followed by three series against three of the worst teams in all of Major League Baseball.
C/O: Kathryn Riley/Getty Images
It is not out of the question to see this team above .500 by the end of June, putting them in contention for Chaim Bloom to make a move at the deadline on August 2nd. There has not been much reason to believe for the Red Sox this year, but with the bats back on track and Boston's top-two starters coming off of stellar outings, the tide is beginning to turn in favor of Cora and the Red Sox.
After a dramatic series win, Alex Cora spoke about Franchy Cordero, his resurgence, and the future, stating, "I told you. He’s going to start hitting the ball in the air and good things are going to happen...Great at-bat. Oh-two slider in the zone. He’s been swinging the bat well...Overall, a great homestand, a great game. That feeling, swinging the bats, we’re really close to who we are."
Red Sox ace Nate Eovaldi later spoke about the team, stating, "We weren’t panicking...All the guys who were coming in the clubhouse, we still had a really good vibe. I think now, it goes to show. With the offense swinging the way we know they’re capable of doing, it takes pressure off all the other guys to go out there and pound the strike zone."
If Nick Pivetta's complete game against the Astros was thought to be the highest the Red Sox could go in the tumultuous season, that would be wrong. Each game keeps topping the next one whether it's Trevor Story hitting three home runs in a single game out of nowhere, Franchy Cordero smashing a walk-off grand slam into the right-field bleachers to seal the first sweep of the season. Sweeping a four-game series is incredibly difficult no matter the opposition. The offense combined with the pitching in both the bullpen and the rotation has to be hitting on all cylinders. The Red Sox took two out of three against two solid baseball teams in the Rangers and the Astros and then broke through the glass ceiling with a sweep of the struggling Mariners.
Early in the season, Boston's offense, which was supposed to be the strength of the team, averaged just about 2.6 runs per game. This average began in the middle of the Toronto series in April, to the end of the White Sox series at the beginning of May. Nine of those games were one-run losses including five losses in extra innings. Since the start of the Rangers series, the Red Sox have averaged an astounding 6.7 runs per game and have put together a record of 8-2 in the last 10 in those contests. Boston is the only team in the MLB right now that is 8-2 in its last 10 games.
The Red Sox have been above .500 just twice this season, despite the fact that they are still three games under the .500 mark, it all seems to be coming together. Micheal Wacha is back in the fold after suffering a knee injury and had an average outing in the second game of the Mariners series. Seeing Nathan Eovaldi strike about a career-high 11 batters in the final game of the series after his last outing when he gave up five homers to the Astros in the second inning shows the mental toughness he possesses.
The most telling game of this past series was the start by Garrett Whitlock when he gave up five runs and 10 hits in the first three innings of the third game of the series. The team's most glaring weakness, the bullpen, stepped in a 5-1 ball game and put together six straight shutout innings. From Jake Diekman striking out the side to Matt Barnes coming in to close the game in convincing fashion. If Barnes can get going back to where he was at the beginning of last season, this Boston bullpen will be rolling. His velocity is up from the start of the season, and after a quality outing, the tide is beginning to turn in Barnes' favor and increasing his confidence. Almost everyone contributed in this series, not only on the offense but the pitching staff.
Franchy Cordero's walk-off home run to lock up the series sweep may only be the beginning of this secret weapon that Boston possesses. He is still trying to prove to the Red Sox that the Andrew Benintendi trade to the Royals was not a loss. Cordero turned on an Andrés Muñoz slider and crushed it into orbit. Normal first basemen are not supposed to be able to do that, especially with the game on the line. If Cordero does continue to succeed as the season unfolds, it would be a bonus for Bloom, and Cora who were not expecting much after his performance last year. Triston Casas is yet to be called up despite the calls for him to move to the Red Sox given the offensive struggles just put another card in the back pocket of Boston.
C/O: The Associated Press
Three average to poor outings for the starting pitching would have led to three losses at the beginning of the season. Rich Hill, Wacha, and Whitlock started the first three games of the series, and none of them were the reason why the Red Sox clinched the win. With the bullpen picking up the slack, to the offense finding its stride, Boston is performing just like the public that it would from the get-go. Christian Vázquez, Jackie Bradley Jr, and players batting at the end of the lineup are coming around, and in this past series made some of the most crucial hits that led to wins at the end of the day.
With the calendar now turning to June, Boston is moving into its most essential stretch of the season. There was an assumption that there would be no important summer baseball at Fenway Park in 2022, but all of that has been put to bed. There was no need to overreact and crucify this team with the issues that it had to go through at the start. Patience is the theme of this 2022 team. The Red Sox are not a team that should have a .300 winning percentage, and the last few weeks are demonstrating that.
Adding Trevor Story in an already lethal infield in the offseason created a lot of hype, and when it was not lived up to in the first few weeks, the criticism started. It takes time for a team to gel together, and now that a few months are under Boston's belt, the ceiling of this team is limitless with the summer on the horizon and a goal of avenging last season's ending on the mind of Cora and the rest of the team.
