Alex Cora explained after the Red Sox' 5-4 win over the Guardians in Cleveland Tuesday night that the weekend series against the Rays sure felt more than four days. Understandable.
Those three straight wins by Tampa Bay brought out all the doubts and insecurities both the Red Sox and and their fans had in the team. The record since that eight-game win streak (9-15). The inability to consistently play presentable defense. An offense that was relying too much on the unknown, with the knowns (Rafael Devers) not looking quite himself.
And while having to weather this most recent Rays storm, there was that reminder of how this was becoming a more uphill climb by the day thanks to standings that had put the Orioles, Astros and Yankees firmly in their Wild Card residence, with the red-hot and ultra-talented Blue Jays showing they surely belong in the postseason conversation.
Then along came James Paxton.
The starting pitcher did what an ace does, stop a losing streak, protect his bullpen and offer the kind of security an insecure team might need. In the win over Cleveland, the lefty went seven innings, allowing just two runs on six hits, striking out nine.
It was also the way the big lefty did it that got optimism back on the Red Sox' side, getting more whiffs than any Sox pitcher this season, getting 24 swings-and-misses while presenting a fastball that topped out at 97.7 mph.
And then there was how he finished his 106-pitch outing off.
“That's something he always talked about,” Cora told reporters. “We met with him in spring training, and he went over the way the outings go. The stuff is gonna get better. Early on he's gonna know if it's the cutter or the curveball. But the fastball, it will play late in games. That's the guy I remember seeing in ‘17, so it was good to see there was another gear with that fastball after the fourth inning."
"That’s always the goal, is to hear that seventh-inning stretch song when you go out there," Paxton explained to the media.
Paxton may have been the centerpiece for the conversation, but his wasn't the only impactful presence for the Red Sox.
There was the resiliency that reemerged, with the Sox overcoming a one-run deficit with four runs in the eighth inning. The biggest blow in that frame came from Rob Refsnyder, who came up with a bases-loaded single to break the teams' 2-2 tie.
There were three more hits from Masa Yoshida, who is seemingly cementing an invitation to the All-Star festivities in Seattle.
And here's one more thing to complicate as the Red Sox look to navigate this week: The Yankees might be representing an opportunity for Alex Cora's team.
With Aaron Judge now in the injured list (toe), the New York outfield isn't exactly making that lineup seem all that fearsome, with the trio of Jake Bauers, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Willie Calhoun making up their group in New York's 3-2 loss to the White Sox. And, oh yeah, starter Nestor Cortes also went on the IL with a shoulder strain.
Take care of Cleveland and then roll through the depleted Yankees. Sounds like a suddenly feasible plan for these new-look Red Sox.
