Sometimes it’s hard to remind ourselves that this is how a Major League Baseball season works. Even in a team’s lowest points, usually the length of a six-month schedule allows for some hope along the way. It’s always fair to make judgments when first seeing the wave. But one has to truly ride in order to get the spirit of the thing.
Right now, the Red Sox have suddenly found themselves with a tasty set.
With their second straight win over the Cardinals, a 9-3 victory in which Alex Cora’s club scored more runs than in any other game this season, the Red Sox are now just two games back of first-place in the American League East. This is despite still carrying a 6-9 record and despite juggling what appears to be a mismatched roster.
But here they are. Rightfully, feeling as good about themselves as any team in the American League. Why? Because not only have the Sox captured the good vibes that come with four of their last five games, but also because of the very familiar uneasiness besetting the rest of the AL.
No team in the American League is more than two games over .500, with the AL East suddenly hosting a three-way tie atop the division.
Through the season’s first five series of the 2026 season, every team has, in some form or fashion, lived the life of the once-hopeless Red Sox. And, through it all, it is perhaps the Sox who could head into the second month feeling as good as anyone.
Make no mistake about it, the issues bubbled up before Saturday haven’t completely gone away. There has to be still more proof in that pudding. But certainly, there are signs that the Red Sox are edging closer to the better-case scenario they were starving for a week ago.
Trevor Story’s batting average, for instance, jumped 51 points with his four-hit day Sunday.
Ceddanne Rafaela now has at least one hit in his last 11 games, carrying a batting average of .326 and OPS of .814.
With his four-hit game, Willson Contreras’ OPS has landed at .957, having not reached base in just two of his first 15 games as a member of the Red Sox.
And the once-concerning combination of Ranger Suarez and Brayan Bello did an about-face in St. Louis, giving the Red Sox’s starters the best ERA (1.52) the most recent time through the rotation.
It is a five-game stretch that has completely flipped the narrative, both regarding the Red Sox and plenty of teams now living with the kind of uncertainty hovering over the Sox for those first couple of weeks.
Remember those can’t-be-beat Brewers? They have lost five straight. Or how about the Astros team that took the Red Sox to the woodshed? Their losing streak stands at seven games.
Meanwhile, the Sox own the best team ERA over that span, having put up the fifth-most runs,
It would be foolish to suggest this club now has it figured out. Maybe a series win over the first-place - yes, first-place - Twins will cement that the pieces are starting to fit a whole lot better. But just remember a year ago when the Sox seemingly righted their ship after a 1-4 start with five straight victories only to languish in mediocrity until taking off in late June?
Being able to lean on the group that was always going to be perceived as their foundation, the starting pitchers, will go a long way. But there should be something even more heartening for the Red Sox: the rest of the American League is just like them, desperately trying to find their identity before everyone else.
Other than the Yankees, no team in the division is being given a better chance at making the playoffs by Fangraphs than the Red Sox (48.5 percent). Why? Because sifting through all of these flawed AL clubs, it’s hard to ignore the potential the Sox possess. It’s the kind of capabilities that were giving birth to so much of the early-season frustrations, and now have put this club right back in the conversation they carried on Opening Day.
It’s fitting that the Red Sox’s current run differential stands at exactly zero. Not plus. Not minus. Zero. Maybe it’s a sign. The American League has allowed them to start over. Now here’s their chance.
