Craig Breslow, Tanner Houck talk Tommy John news
Before the Red Sox could officially break out the broom and celebrate their sweep of the Astros, Craig Breslow offered his analysis of his club's mentality and motivation in these few days after the trade deadline.
"It’s a really resilient group that’s confident in each other and coming together at exactly the right time and exactly the right way. I think there’s a lot to be excited about and reason for optimism," the team's chief baseball officer said prior to what would be a 6-1 win over the Astros Sunday morning/afternoon.
He added, "We’ve gotta go out and keep playing the way that we do. But I’m not sure there’s a ton that was or wasn’t going to happen coming out of the deadline that was going to knock these guys off the path that they’re on."
It turns out the path paved with the kind of vibes many believed wouldn't be an option after Thursday's trade deadline.
But since Breslow and Co. have shaken off the disappointment that was the Joe Ryan/Sandy Alcantara-less deadline life for these Red Sox has been more glorious than even the most ardent optimists could have hoped for.
Sunday simply served as confirmation for Breslow's hypothesis.
Lucas Giolito, the starting pitcher who represents a lot of eggs in this team's starting rotation's basket, was next-level. The righty went eight innings, allowing three hits and just one run.
The offense knocked around All-Star Framber Valdez, who allowed as many as six runs for just the second time this season, pushing his ERA from 2.62 to 2.76.
And they did it all once again in front of a Fenway crowd that has now seen the Red Sox go 21-5 at home since June 4.
"We feel like it's go time," said Trevor Story after Saturday's game.
Rob Refsnyder added, "I feel like we're kind of figuring out our identity a little bit. Guys are settling into their roles. The trade deadline is passed and it's go time."
The Red Sox have experienced various iterations of "go time" in recent years, with this one perhaps feeling a bit different.
A year ago, the Red Sox won four of their first five coming out of July, bumping up their record to nine games over .500 and putting them smack dab in the Wild Card race. But the belief in Alex Cora's team wasn't necessarily as strong as this time around, as the Fangraphs playoff odds might suggest. (Aug. 3, 2025: 69 percent; Aug. 3, 2024: 39.1 percent.)
But, as has been the case for every August before this one throughout the past four seasons, the month unraveled for last year's team, duplicating 2023's August mark by going 13-15.
With that looming as an uncomfortable reminder, predicting how long these feelings will last is impossible. All the Red Sox know is that they are 3-0 since the deadline, reside in top Wild Card spot, and feel pretty good about themselves.