BOSTON – Now at the midpoint of their season, are the 35-46 Red Sox at last hitting their stride?
Though being on pace to finish with a 70-92 record is something team evaluators couldn’t have imagined back in Spring Training, there could still be time for interim manager Chad Tracy’s team to make the summer interesting, particularly given the state of the American League Wild Card race.
On a beautiful Saturday afternoon at Fenway Park, the Red Sox beat the rival Yankees for the third straight day, 4-1, and will go for the rare four-game sweep on Sunday Night Baseball. The three-game winning streak matched a season high (done three times previously).
This is what mattered most:
1. Bennett extends rotation dominance
For the first time since 1988, the Red Sox have reeled off a string of 10 consecutive quality starts. Jake Bennett, one of three rookies in the starting rotation, kept a good thing going Saturday, holding the Yankees to three hits and one run over a career high 6 1/3 innings that included two walks and three strikeouts. During the quality start streak, Sox starters have a 1.69 ERA. The streak in ‘88 – from April 8-25 – lasted 14 games.
2. Seigler’s first career homer
With middle infielders Trevor Story, Marcelo Mayer and Isiah Kiner-Falefa all sidelined at the same time, Anthony Seigler has been a frequent presence in Tracy’s lineup of late. In the bottom of the second inning facing Gerrit Cole, Seigler went the other way and dropped a solo homer just above the Green Monster. An animated Seigler rounded the bases in celebration of his first career dinger in 44 games. The second baseman later added a nice sliding stop on a grounder by Anthony Volpe to end the top of the fifth inning.
3. Yoshida provides early spark
Entering Saturday, Masataka Yoshida had a paltry .450 OPS in 44 plate appearances in June. That changed in a hurry when he blasted Cole’s second pitch of the afternoon into the Boston bullpen in right-center. In his second at-bat, Yoshida laced an RBI single. The Red Sox haven’t been getting much out of the leadoff spot or DH of late, so any kind of resurgence from Yoshida would be welcome.