The Red Sox beat the A’s 4-3, completing their fifth series sweep of the season. Today, it took a comeback from the Sox, their 27th come-from-behind win this season. Despite having to resort to two bullpen games this series, the Sox won all three games and only gave up nine runs throughout the series. The Sox made huge strides against those in front of them in the wild card race and are now only two games back of the Jays for the final playoff spot. The Sox concluded the first half with a record of 48-43, slightly better than the first-half record of last year’s team, which was 48-45.
The Red Sox are now headed to the break as winners of eight of their last nine games. Compared to how the Sox ended the first half last year, this year was much better. In the last game before the All-Star break in 2022, the Red Sox lost to the Yankees 13-2. This was the Red Sox’s sixth loss in their last seven games. Worst of all, in that final game, Chris Sale left the game with an injury and would not be seen again that season. That left Red Sox fans with an awful feeling about the team during the break. However, this year couldn’t be more different. The Red Sox swept the series going into the break, showcasing both great pitching and hitting. The Red Sox will also be in a great position to start the second half off well. Their first two series will be against the below-.500 Cubs and the struggling A’s team that the Sox just embarrassed. Starting the second half off well was also something that the 2022 Red Sox did not do. The Red Sox played a series against the Blue Jays at Fenway. Not only did the Sox get swept, but they also lost the first game 28-5! Starting the second half well is huge in baseball, and it is something that the Red Sox must do.
The Oakland A’s showed today why they might be one of the worst teams of all time. As the guys in the NESN booth mentioned, the Red Sox didn’t play their best game, but it didn’t matter. The Oakland A’s handed the Red Sox a win by embarrassing themselves on both sides of the ball. On the defensive side, they made three errors, including errors that led to two out of the four Red Sox runs. In the first inning, with a runner at second and one out, the third baseman botched a ground ball off the bat of Rafael Devers. This put the runner on third, and they would then score on Adam Duvall’s sac fly. In the sixth inning, with Yoshida at first base and two outs, Masataka tried to steal second. The catcher threw the ball into center field, allowing Masataka to advance to third. Christian Arroyo then hit a clutch double into the left-center field gap, tying the game.
On the offensive side of the ball, it was even worse. The A’s put the leadoff man on in five consecutive innings; however, over those innings, they failed to score a single run. In a couple of innings, such as the seventh, the A’s had runners on first and second with nobody out, but still couldn’t score. One of the main reasons for their missed opportunities was their inability to execute bunts, particularly exhibited by A’s shortstop Tyler Wade. His first chance came in the sixth inning with runners at first and second and nobody out. Wade proceeded to pop up the bunt, failing to move the runners up. Wade would once again pop up a bunt attempt in the eighth inning with a runner at first and nobody out. Wade’s poor afternoon continued in the eighth inning when Jarren Duran hit a ground ball his way. Wade mishandled the ball, letting it roll a couple of feet away from him as he pouted to himself. Meanwhile, Duran hustled to second, making Wade pay for his mental error.
After the All-Star break, the Red Sox will head to Chicago to play a three-game series at Wrigley Field. The Sox will look to build on their five-game win streak and catch up to the Yankees for fourth place in the AL East and the Jays in the wildcard race. Red Sox fans should like the team’s chances in game one in Chicago, as their ace, Bryan Bello, will be starting for the Red Sox. Bello will try to make his third consecutive start going at least seven innings and give the Red Sox a win to start the second half.
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