Standing ovations after losses aren't the norm. Then again, neither are 15-game win streaks. Or, for that matter, turning the perception of a team inside out over the course of three weeks.
Welcome to the 2026 Red Sox.
When the Red Sox's run finally came to an end Wednesday night with a 5-1 loss to the Orioles, the home team walked off the Fenway Park field to a wave of appreciation. It was a group that not only allowed New England baseball fans to experience history with a stretch that matched the most consecutive wins by any Red Sox team in franchise history, but also managed something even more important to those standing and clapping.
This collection of Red Sox representatives saved the summer. And, around these parts, such a gift isn't taken lightly. Want proof? This game elicited the highest paid attendance at Fenway Park since Sept. 13, 2016. This wasn't about kilt-wearing curiosity or unique giveaways. This was about a baseball team actually giving its fan base legitimate hope that such celebrations could happen in October.
The reality of this ride was that it started on June 25, the launch point for a stretch that saw the Red Sox win 22 of 25 games. But there is something about a win streak in this up-and-down world of big league baseball that should be analyzed and celebrated. Not losing at all for almost three weeks is not easy.
"I want everybody to feel proud of what we did," said Willson Contreras, who addressed the team along with Sonny Gray after the loss in the second game of the Red Sox's doubleheader. “We tied a record [that had been there] since 1946. That's not easy to do. We made history. We played good baseball for two weeks or more. And we just lost one game. We know losing is part of the game. I don't want anybody to feel down. But I want everybody to feel proud.”
"We just won 15 games in a row, and I think all of us knew it was going to end at some point," Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy said. “It just happened to end tonight, so they're already refocused. I wanted to go in and talk to the team, and Sonny and Willson were already handling it. The focus is that’s behind us, and the big thing is if we continue to play baseball that way, we’re going to win a heck of a lot more than we lose.”
Now that it is over, we can reflect.
Before the streak: The Red Sox were 11 games under .500, sitting with a 13.4 percent chance to make the postseason while residing 7 1/2 games out of a wild card spot and 10 1/2 behind the Yankees.
After the streak: The Red Sox are three games over .500, with FanGraphs putting their playoff odds at 61.7 percent. They are currently a wild card team, two games up on the team next in line for the third playoff spot (Seattle). And the Yankees? They are only 4 1/2 games clear of the Sox.
So, now that it's over, two obvious questions emerge: 1. How did that happen?; and 2. What now?
The reasons for the resurgence aren't sexy. They pitched unbelievably well, particularly a relief corps that managed a 1.08 ERA over the 20 days. The hitters actually scored a palatable 5.6 runs per game, crossing the plate the fourth-most times of any major league team since the July 3 jumping-off point.
But perhaps most importantly, the Red Sox were able to identify themselves. How they play. How much they believed that way of playing was going to pay off. Why this collection of players might actually work. And, all the while, Tracy expertly steered all parties involved in just the right lanes to make it all click.
That was it.
Now?
This was the necessary first step. Now comes the next piece of the World Series-aspiration equation: Plugging in some parts. Think Nathan Eovaldi and Steve Pearce in 2018. Think Kyle Schwarber three years later. That's the level of impact we're talking about. There have only been trade deadline whiffs since 2021, with the inability to make meaningful postseason runs serving as that reminder.
Craig Breslow and Co. can't be overly seduced by this month's success, or the prospects of getting a healthy Trevor Story and Roman Anthony back. The message starting in the offseason was World Series or bust. Not win streak or bust. It would behoove the Red Sox to make a World Series or bust-type of trade.
That is the reward for what just happened ... for both the Red Sox and the fans.
