Red Sox make history in blowout loss to Yankees entering the All-Star break
The Red Sox still haven't won a series against an AL East team this season.
The roller coaster that was the Red Sox’ first half of the season came to an end on Sunday.
Boston struggled out of the gate, going 10-19 through its first 29 games. But the team found its stride from the middle of May into June, as Boston went 20-6 to not only get above .500 but solidify itself as a playoff contender.
However, the Red Sox have gone 5-12 in July, knocking them out of a playoff spot entering the All-Star break. That’s because the one consistent thing about the Red Sox so far this season is their inability to beat their AL East rivals. With Sunday’s 13-2 loss to the Yankees, the Red Sox lost another series to a divisional opponent. In fact, they have yet to win a series against an AL East team and are 0-10-1 in series’ against AL East rivals this season. That marks the first time they’ve gone without a series win against a division rival entering the All-Star break in team history, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
Despite that, the Red Sox are still above .500 (48-45) and just two games behind the Blue Jays for the final wild card spot in the American League. The bad news for the Red Sox though is that they’ve got more series’ against AL East teams (12) than they’ve played (11).
Boston’s gone 12-26 so far against the AL East, which is proving to be the toughest division in baseball. The Yankees hold the best record in the sport, going 64-28 in the first half of the season. The Rays (51-41) and Blue Jays (50-43) are in the wild card, and after being one of the worst teams in baseball over the last few seasons, the Orioles’ recent surge brought them to .500 (46-46) right before the All-Star break.
To make matters worse, the Red Sox are getting attacked by the injury bug. Trevor Story and Matt Strahm were both hit by a ball in Tuesday’s loss to the Rays, subsequently placing them on the injured list. Chris Sale, who just made his season debut in that game against the Rays, fractured the pinky on his throwing hand on Sunday, which will likely force him to miss time, too.
The Red Sox got pitchers Nathan Eovaldi and Garrett Whitlock back on Friday, and they both proved to be huge in the win over the Yankees that night, but their IL is still crowded. Kiké Hernández, Michael Wacha, Rich Hill, Christian Arroyo, Connor Seabold, Josh Taylor, Tyler Danish, and Matt Barnes are all on the IL with their potential return to the majors unknown.
Boston opens up the second half against a division rival, hosting Toronto for a three-game set. After that, it gets a bit of a rest from division opponents. The Red Sox won’t face an AL East team again until Aug. 11, when they host the Orioles for a makeup game before a three-game homestand against the Yankees. In between the series against the Blue Jays and makeup game against the Orioles, the trade deadline will take place on Aug. 2, where the Red Sox can either cement their status as a contender or sit back and hope internal improvement will turn things around.
The Red Sox will play 13 games against AL East team in August, setting up for a whopping 22 games against division rivals in September and October.
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