Boston Red Sox
Sonny Gray once again led the way on the Boston bump.
Outfielder Anthony Siegler was an unlikely hero in the Red Sox’ seven-game winning streak. AP Photo/Frank Franklin II
Are the Boston Red Sox back?
They are definitely on the right track.
Boston won its seventh straight game Friday night, 6-2, in its series opener against the New York Mets. The win improved their record to 44-48, bringing the club closer to .500 on the year.
Furthermore, the win was the Red Sox’ 12th win in their last 14 games.
Immediately after scoring the final out, Boston found itself 1.5 games out of third place in the American League.
The victory was even more beautiful considering the serious problems the team faced while trying to reach Citi Field.
After they were supposed to leave Chicago at 9:45 PM ET Thursday night following their series sweep of the White Sox, the Red Sox team plane was grounded until 3 PM ET on Friday. Weather delays on Thursday kept them at their gate, then mechanical problems on Friday extended their stay on the runway into the afternoon.
Friday’s game with the Mets was originally scheduled to start at 7:15 p.m., but was postponed until 7:50 due to Boston not landing at LaGuardia Airport until shortly after 4:30 p.m.
Starting pitcher Sonny Gray did not travel to New York beforehand, which is what some starters do to settle in before their outing.
However, the actual Red Sox outfielder continued his stretch of absolutely dominant pitching.
Gray threw six innings of one-run ball, struck out three, and walked one on 91 pitches (53 strikeouts). He added an 11th win to his personal record in an excellent season for the veteran right-hander.
Boston’s game was studs as well – Tyron Guerrero, Garrett Whitlock and Greg Weissert finished the game in the final three innings after Gray was out. Weissert allowed New York’s second and final run on a ninth-inning solo home run, but that was all she wrote in the running column.
Offensively, the Red Sox bats stayed hot in an unprecedented turnaround by the entire team at the plate.
Masataka Yoshida got things started in the first inning with a two-out double, but Boston was quiet until the seventh inning when Anthony Siegler opened things up. He hit a two-run homer to extend the lead, his second of the year, and was excited as he rounded the bases.
After the game, Apple TV’s Heidi Watney asked Siegler how energized he was after the travel issues the team faced earlier in the day. He said the club simply knew they would have to persevere, and they did that on the diamond.
“I think that’s just the way we are. It’s this whole team. It doesn’t start with just one person. I think it’s just everyone in the locker room,” Sigler said. “We faced some adversity today, of course. But it didn’t matter. We knew we were going to come here and handle our business, and we did that.”
He even said he felt like he could prepare for another match right after the win.
“I mean, I feel like we could go nine more (innings) if we wanted to, honestly, with the way we’re going,” Sigler said with a smile.
Seigler, who came to Boston in the Caleb Durbin trade in February, has been a complete, if unlikely, spark plug since joining the team last month. Over 20 games, he slashed .292/.378/.477 with an .855 OPS, reaching the top of the order.
Wilier Abreu He joined the fun with a two-run shot in the ninth inning to cap the Red Sox home run. He finally got one after coming close to hitting a homer in the fifth inning.
Boston’s offensive surge couldn’t have come at a better time. The front office has yet to decide whether they will be buyers or sellers at next month’s trade deadline; The team’s hot streak could keep chief baseball officer Craig Breslow from blowing up the roster in the second half.
The Red Sox are still four games below .500, but finishing the first half of what has been a turbulent start to the season with a winning streak and a string of multiple sweeps could be just what the doctor ordered as the days of summer approach.
“We’re putting great bats together, the whole lineup from top to bottom,” Sigler said of what’s been happening lately. “Our rookie, Sonny, they all just speak for themselves. Then our bullpen does a great job behind them.”
“Everyone is fun to be around. We believe in each other. Everything is contagious. We all bring high energy every day.”
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