An impressive punctuation to the Red Sox' impressive first month
How should Red Sox fans view this first full month of the 2024 season? Consider it a pleasant surprise.
It is a theme of a team that has entered into May with a 17-13 record, and it was also a fitting description of how the Red Sox capped their April. When you knock one of the best pitchers in the game, Logan Webb, out of the game after just 3 2/3 innings on the way to a 4-0 win over the Giants you could say it was, yes, a pleasant surprise.
What does it truly all mean? That story has yet to be told. Remember, the Red Sox were two games over .500 heading into May 1 a year ago. But the tale Alex Cora and Co. has spun so far is deserving of some reflection no matter what awaits.
Topping the list of eyebrow-raising elements to this first month is undeniably the pitching. That same pitching which most everyone thought would be the roadblock to viability. (Remember when Rafael Devers said everyone knew what the Red Sox needed coming out of the offseason? He was talking about the pitching.)
Lucas Giolito. Nick Pivetta. Garrett Whitlock. Brayan Bello. All finish April on the injured list. No matter. Cooper Criswell - the player the Red Sox chose to allocate a one-year, $1 million deal to despite having just two major league starts under his belt - helped land the Sox' starters with a 2.00 ERA to finish April, throwing five shutout innings.
The starters have allowed zero runs in 12 of their 30 games this season, second most by any MLB team in history behind Tampa bay in 2019 (15 such starts). They have also gone at least five innings in nine of those starts, tying a franchise record within 30 team games (1914), and tied for 2nd-most in MLB history behind CLE in 1968 (10).
Who saw that coming?
And while it was encouraging for the Red Sox to reflect on a month full of historic pitching performances, what should offer an even greater skip in their step is how they have plugged substantial number of holes in their boat.
Ceddanne Rafaela has emerged as a very viable starting shortstop, excelling defensively while slowly figuring out how to function offensively in the big leagues. Vaughn Grissom is finally on the cusp of getting his crack at being an everyday second baseman. Right now, you have three outfielders - Tyler O'Neill, Jarren Duran and Wilyer Abreu - who have entered into All-Star consideration conversations. (Note: The Red Sox outfielders have a combined major league-best .872 OPS.)
Rafael Devers hasn't truly gotten going, yet still sits with an impressive .872 OPS. And the catching tandem of Connor Wong and Reese McGuire own the second-best combined OPS of any team's backstop (.884).
And maybe no collection of players on this team represent the evolution from the end of spring training than the relievers. The collection of Zack Kelly, Greg Weissert, Justin Slaten, Chase Anderson and Brennan Bernarndino have emerged as extremely reliable while Chris Martin and Kenley Jansen get their feet under them.
It's impossible to know how this will play out, especially considering the talent up and down those other American League East contenders. But the Red Sox do seem to have the kind of starting pitching fail-safe most teams would kill for. (Just ask the Rockies, whose starters are a collective 1-16 with a 6.49 ERA.)
The good part for these Red Sox is that they have managed to grab a hold of something more important than gaudy stats or early-season wins. They now possess the kind of confidence that simply hadn't taken root when April began.
Even with all the pitfalls and problems, the process has worked. And that is why the beginning of May feels a whole lot different than anybody thought it would a month ago.
