Red Sox Have Become MLB's Hottest Team: Pitching and Offseason Additions Fuel Dramatic Turnaround
Red Sox Have Become MLB’s Hottest Team: Pitching and Offseason Additions Fuel Dramatic Turnaround originally appeared on NESN.
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Entering the All-Star break, the Boston Red Sox have arguably been the best team in baseball for the past two weeks. They are 14-2 in their last 16 games, and have swept four of their last five series, capped off by a weekend sweep over the New York Mets to end the first half of the season.
This Red Sox team is a completely different one from the start of the season, and it seems like there’s a few key reasons why.
The team is firing on all cylinders
Right now, the main thing carrying Boston is their pitching and defense, which is what they were counting on when building the team. Their depth is so great, they lost their Cy Young runner-up ace in Garrett Crochet back in April, yet are still arguably the best rotation in baseball.
Sonny Gray has picked up the slack, becoming the ace Boston needs in Crochet’s absence; he’s 11-1, has a 2.54 ERA, and was one of the biggest snubs of this year’s All-Star game.
The hitting has picked up as well, as Boston has finally stopped trying for hero power shots, and has opted to simply get on base for the few hot hitters on the team to get them in. And, the hottest of those hitters came from an unexpected place.
Biggest contributors are Breslow acquisitions
The acquisitions Breslow got this year are doing great for Boston. Willson Contreras is an All-Star and top ten hitter in the MLB, Caleb Durbin is finally picking up the slack at third base, while Gray, Ranger Suarez, and Jake Bennett are dominating in the rotation.
Even guys like Anthony Seigler are helping Boston win games, and he was a footnote in the trade for Durbin.
Where does Boston go from here?
Boston is 14-2 in their last 16 games, and have swept four of five series, three of which in a row and on the road. They enter the All-Star break only 0.5 games behind the third American League wild card spot.
With that in mind, they need to be buyers at the deadline; getting another slugger at shortstop, DH or catcher is a must. A guy like Jeremy Pena would be great, but they would have to give up a decent amount, as the Houston Astros are in the hunt as well.
Hopefully, Boston has a plan, and during the trade deadline acts upon it.
