The Red Sox had another strong showing this week going 6-1. The schedule continues to be a grind (4 vs Toronto, 3 at Philadelphia) but this team continues to get contributions from the entire roster to win games. The Red Sox had won 8 games prior to today’s loss. Over the last 9 games, Boston fans saw the team’s record go from 2 games under .500 to 6 games over .500. Here are the 3 stats that really explain how well this team is playing.
5+ runs in 8 out of the last 9 games.
The Red Sox lineup has been relentless all season long. The third best scoring offense in baseball has gotten contributions from the entire lineup and this week was no different. Masataka Yoshida has been the hottest hitter in baseball over the past 2 weeks as he is riding a 16-game hit streak. Rafael Devers has been slumping lately but still leads the American League in home runs and RBI. Enmanuel Valdez was second on the team in RBI for the week with 5 as he continues to hit big league pitching without striking out a lot (19.4% K-rate coming into Sunday). The fun part about this lineup is if Rafael Devers has an off night, Verdugo or someone else steps up and carries the load for the night. And when Devers gets hot, look out. The Boston offense has to be one of the biggest surprises in all of baseball.
Just get the ball to the bullpen.
The transformation of the Boston bullpen has been incredible from last year. In the ‘22 season, the Red Sox bullpen gave every Sox fan high blood pressure as no lead was safe. Last season, the bullpen ranked 26th in ERA (4.59) and had 28 blown saves. Fast forward to this season and they have the 8th best bullpen ERA (3.46). Alex Cora has a bunch of reliable options to turn to with a lead including the closer, Kenley Jansen, who has converted 8/9 save opportunities and has only allowed 1 run all season. This week, the bullpen threw 23 innings and had a 2.34 ERA. I still have concerns about the amount of innings the bullpen has thrown (4th most in baseball) but the team with the most bullpen innings is the Tampa Bay Rays, who have the best record in baseball.
The Catchers can hit.
Many Sox fans were concerned with the catching position coming into the season. Many wanted Chaim Bloom to bring back Christian Vazquez and when it was clear that Wong and McGuire were going to be the guys, there were doubts. The two catchers have quickly quieted the doubters as the tandem had the 5th highest wRC+ among the position group (117) coming into Sunday. Connor Wong has really emerged as an offensive threat as his 4-4, 2 home run performance Tuesday night really opened some eyes. Although Reese McGuire doesn’t provide a lot of pop, his .345 batting average and .378 OBP definitely plays. The catching position has been a big surprise to start the season.
Offensive MVP for the week: Masataka Yoshida
Pitching MVP for the week: Josh Winckowski
Lineup for the week:
Connor Wong: 5-16, 2B, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 2 R
Reese McGuire: 5-10, 2 RBI, BB, R
Triston Casas: 5-17, HR, 4 RBI, 2 BB, 4 R
Justin Turner: 8-28, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 5 R, 2 BB, SB
Enmanuel Valdez: 6-17, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 2 R, 1 BB, 3 SB
Kiké Hernandez: 6-29, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R
Christian Arroyo: 3-9, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 3 R
Rafael Devers: 9-28, 2 2B, HR, 7 RBI, 3 R, BB
Alex Verdugo: 6-20, 4 2B, HR, RBI, 5 R, 3 BB, 2 SB
Masataka Yoshida: 12-25, 2 2B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 7 R, BB
Jarren Duran: 7-23, 2 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 4 R, 3 BB, 2 SB
Raimel Tapia: 5-20, 2B, RBI, 2 BB, 5 R, 4 SB
Rob Refsynder: 4-8, 2B, 4 RBI, R
Upcoming Week:
The Red Sox get a bit of a break this week as they have off days Monday and Thursday, which is a much needed break after playing 29 games in 30 days. The schedule does not ease up as Boston has a tough 2-game series in Atlanta against the best team in the National League. Over the weekend, Boston will be returning to Fenway to take on the surprisingly bad St. Louis Cardinals (11-24).
Projected Pitching Matchups for Atlanta:
Nick Pivetta (2-2, 4.99 ERA) vs Charlie Morton (3-3, 3.38 ERA)
Brayan Bello (1-1, 5.71 ERA) vs TBD
With 5 games next week, what are your predictions for the games against Atlanta and St. Louis?