Going into the MLB All-Star break, the Boston Red Sox ripped off nine straight wins. They went from being big sellers at the trade deadline to a half-game back of the final American League wild-card spot.
There was one question that Boston was facing coming out of the break. Can they carry the momentum they had following the break, beginning with a doubleheader at home against the first-place Tampa Bay Rays?
The answer was yes, and it was in a big way. The Red Sox rolled to a 10-0 win in Game 1 before rallying in Game 2 for a 5-3 victory to run their winning streak to 11 games. They will take the field for Game 3 on Saturday afternoon tied for the final AL wild-card spot with the Minnesota Twins. However, interim manager Chad Tracy had a message for his team that is rolling right now.
Boston Red Sox Manager Chad Tracy Has Message Amid 11-Game Winning Streak
Just about everything is going right for the Red Sox right now. Left-hander Jake Bennett tossed six scoreless innings in Game 1 on Friday afternoon, allowing just one hit. Tracy went with a bullpen game in the nightcap. That worked out despite falling behind 2-0 in the top of the first.
Wilyer Abreu hit two home runs and Willson Contreras homered in his first game back from a five-game suspension. After winning the second game, Tracy had a message for his team going forward.
“I’ll reiterate it, it’s not time to look at the standings,” Tracy said, per Julian Benbow of the Boston Globe. “It’s nice, but there’s a long way to go. It’s not time to look at it. Right now, our mindset should be who we’re facing tomorrow. Let’s figure out how to win a game tomorrow. But definitely you want to applaud the work that they’ve done over the last two and a half weeks to get in this position.”
Boston Red Sox Continue Momentum Following All-Star Break
Sometimes, All-Star breaks can be bad for a team’s momentum. For one day and two games, it didn’t hurt the Red Sox. Things have been different during this streak. Boston is getting solid starting pitching, timely hitting, and doing little things they haven’t before to win games.
“It just means we’re playing more complete offense over the last three weeks,” Tracy said, per Benbow. “You’ve got to be able to execute the little things to win games, and obviously you’ve got games where you drive the ball out of the ballpark, hit doubles, things like that, and you can win that way.”
The Red Sox begin the unofficial second half with a 10-game homestand. All games are against AL East opponents. Four with the Rays and three each with the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays. They can make up some serious ground with teams ahead of them and get some separation with some teams behind them.
There is a lot of baseball left, but Boston is making one of the bigger turnarounds. Right now, they are not a team that anyone wants to play.
Boston Red Sox Interim Manager Chad Tracy Sends Message Follow Doubleheader Sweep of Rays