It's strange to suggest just hours after news came down that Jarren Duran - the player so many was going to serve as the final piece to the Red Sox' 2021 puzzle - had contracted COVID-19 that optimism had finally returned to 4 Jersey St.
But that's exactly what has happened.
While the Red Sox are still missing Xander Bogaerts, Matt Barnes, Martin Perez, Josh Taylor, Hirokazu Sawamura, Christian Arroyo, Kiké Hernandez and Yairo Munoz (all due to COVID), they have rediscovered something of great value: Hope.
After the Sox' 8-5 win over the Indians Friday night at Fenway Park, that's how it felt.
The fact of the matter is that the Red Sox have now gone 8-4 in their last 12 games, building their Wild Card lead over Oakland to three games while sitting 1 1/2 games in back of the No. 1 Wild Card spot owned by the Yankees.
The uneasiness of August seems to have been put in the rearview mirror for the time being, which, considering the roster maneuvering this club has had to execute is somewhat amazing.
In the last week, the 28-man roster has seen Brad Peacock, Jonathan Arauz, Jack Lopez, John Schreiber, Stephen Gonsalves, and Raynel Espinal all play pivotal roles. Not exactly how they drew it up.
So, how has this happened? Let's do some power-ranking ...
1. Kyle Schwarber
This has been proven to be one of the best Red Sox trade deadline pickups in recent memory, rivaling the likes of Jason Bay (9 HRs, .897 OPS in 49 games for the 2008 team) and Steve Pearce (2018 World Seres MVP).
In 18 games with the Red Sox, Schwarber is batting .344 with a 1.078 OPS (22-for-64, 14 R, 5 2B, 4 HR, 8 RBI, 15 BB). He also has four homers in his last 10 games.
"This is what we expected," said Red Sox manager Alex Cora after watching Schwarber come away with a first-inning, leadoff homer and a two-run, go-ahead double in the seventh.
"Obviously, like I said, our guy he was hurt but we knew he was going to impact the lineup whenever he was ready and he puts good at-bats after good at-bats. Fit right in in the clubhouse, helping other guys throughout their process and he’s been amazing for us."
2. Starting pitching
Friday night, it was Nathan Eovaldi. The righty allowed one run through six innings before giving up a two-run homer in the seventh.
He has a 2.35 ERA (8 ER/30.2 IP) over his last five starts, recording 39 strikeouts to just four walks. In 18 starts beginning May 22, Eovaldi has a 3.38 ERA. But it's not just him.
Beginning Aug. 10, Chris Sale, Eovaldi, and Eduardo Rodriguez have combined to go 7-2 with a 2.70 ERA, walking just 16 BB while striking out 88 in a total of 14 starts. And thanks to the trio, the team now already has three starts of six innings or more this month, which is just three away from its total in July and August, respectively.
Add in Tanner Houck and the Nick Pivetta the Sox have gotten more times than not and that can be the foundation of these last few weeks.
3. A brand new bullpen
They lost their closer. The two guys who were supposed to be their late-inning left-handed solutions (Taylor, Darwinzon Hernandez) are out. Another fairly reliable high-leverage option (Sawamura) is quarantined. The two relievers picked up at the trade deadline (Hansel Robles, Austin Davis) have shown flashes, but not enough to count them as big-game no-doubters.
Yet, here they are. Feeling a bit better about things with each passing day.
The emergence of Garrett Richards as a reliable bullpen arm has been undoubtedly the most significant shift. Then there is the reintegration of Ryan Brasier, whose stuff in his first game back Friday looked promising.
"Glad that he’s back, obviously. I bet it was a very emotional day, emotional night, and he will help us," Cora said of Brasier. "You saw his stuff, throwing 95 (mph), big slider, some weak contact there, the ground ball with two outs then bloop single. But very happy for Brais and now he can breathe and we’ll use him in the right situations."
Then there is Adam Ottavino, whose stuff continues to play up as the season progresses. He hasn't allowed a run since Aug. 15, going 3-for-3 in save opportunities during that eight-game stretch. It's also a period which opposing hitters have managed just a .167 batting average against him.
But the far and away most important element in this entire relief-pitching equation is Garrett Whitlock.
Simply put, he has become one of the best relievers in baseball. And when you have starters who can actually leave you with just nine outs to get, that goes a long way.
