BOSTON -- The Red Sox will have to wait a day in their attempt to match the 1946 club for the longest winning streak (15 games) in franchise history.
But due to Tuesday night’s rainout against the Orioles, Boston will have the rare opportunity to tie and break the record on the same day at Fenway Park.
The clubs will play a day-night doubleheader on Wednesday. Game 1 will be at 1:35 p.m. ET, and fans with tickets for Tuesday can use them for that one.
Wednesday’s regularly scheduled game will start at 7:10.
The sizzling Sox, who are 19-2 since June 24, didn’t seem concerned about a rainout halting their momentum. After all, they had a nine-game streak at the All-Star break and sat for four days before opening this memorable homestand with five straight victories.
“You want to go out there and play, but at the same time, if it looks like it's going to rain on and off, and there’s not a window to play, going out there and standing in the rain or wet field conditions and stuff like that doesn’t make a ton of sense,” said Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy. “We’ll take it for what it is and get ready for a doubleheader [Wednesday].”
The Red Sox will go with lefty Jake Bennett in Game 1, while the O’s will counter with righty Dean Kremer.
While Boston is hopeful lefty Ranger Suarez (left groin strain) can come off the 15-day injured list and pitch the nightcap, the Red Sox will wait and see how he feels before making that determination. If there had been a game on Tuesday, lefty Eduardo Rivera would have started for Boston.
The Orioles will go with righty Kyle Bradish -- who is fresh off signing a five-year, $90 million extension -- in Game 2, after he was originally scheduled to start Tuesday’s game.
When this three-game series started between AL East foes, it was a matchup of the two hottest teams in MLB.
The Red Sox cooled off the Orioles, at least for a night, when they opened the series with a thrilling 6-5 victory on Monday night, fueled by a go-ahead shot by Caleb Durbin in the bottom of the eighth. Baltimore came to town with a seven-game winning streak.
As for the Sox, their torrid run has taken the sting out of a 32-46 start that left them 15 1/2 games back in the AL East and tied with the Rockies for the fewest wins in the Majors. Boston (51-48) now trails first-place Tampa Bay (58-42) by a more manageable 6 1/2 games while holding possession of the third Wild Card spot.
MLB has seen just seven win streaks of 15 or more games within a season in the Expansion Era (since 1961) before the Red Sox’s latest streak, with the most recent coming in 2021, when the Cardinals won 17 in a row.
Boston's 14-game win streak is the longest in the Majors this year, with the Cubs having enjoyed two 10-game win streaks. The last team to win 14 in a row was the Brewers, who did so last August. No team has won 15 in a row since the 2021 Cardinals.