Red Sox 2, White Sox 1

 

Ladies and gentlemen, the 2026 Boston Red Sox are back!

For the first time this season, the team has won six straight games and has completed back-to-back, consecutive sweeps. First, the Angels, and now, the AL Central-leading White Sox (although after three straight losses to Boston, Chicago is now tied for first with Cleveland). 

With this notable achievement, we present the team with the coveted, two-sweep, six-win trophy. We're going to the World Series, baby! 

Yesterday, the Red Sox won what turned out to be a pitching duel, and with a starter returning from a two-year stint on the Injured List at that. Patrick Sandoval, in his first game since June 21, 2024, pitched 4⅓  innings, the first three hitless, striking out five, and walking only one. He finally gave up a single in the fourth, and then got himself into some trouble in the fifth. After Sandoval was relieved, our old friend Andrew Benintendi (Boston, 2016-2020) took advantage of the two-on, one-out situation with a one-run RBI single, but that was all the scoring the Red Sox allowed yesterday.

In the fourth inning, Caleb Durbin hit his ninth homer of the season, a two-run shot into deep left center, and that was all the scoring the White Sox allowed, but it was enough for the win, Boston's sixth straight. And for a sweep in Chicago, a second straight sweep. I know I already point those two things out, but it just feels so good to say it.

The Red Sox are 11-2 since starting a home stand against the Yankees back on June 25. Speaking of Yankees, they beat Tampa Bay last night, so Boston (43-48) picks up a game in the standings and is now eleven back from first place, and 1½ ahead of last-place Baltimore.  

And speaking of New York, the Red Sox are heading there now for a weekend series against the woeful Mets (40-54). Sonny Gray (10-1, 2.61), a legitimate 20-win contender, will start. Gray's last start against the Mets, back on May 2 of last year, didn't go so well - he struck out six, but gave up four earned runs on nine hits, including a two-run homer to Pete Alonso, who's now with the Orioles (serves him right). I sense some payback ass-whipping coming up.  

The Mets will start Clay Holmes (4-4, 2.39). His last start against Boston also didn't go so well - he lasted six innings and struck out five, but gave up home runs to Narváez and the now departed Devers (not departed as in "dead," but as in traded to San Francisco, which is probably just as bad). He might have his own payback fantasies, which is just so adorable, but the Mets don't stand a chance - these Red Sox are unstoppable.

Red Sox 5, White Sox 0

 

Last night, the Boston Red Sox beat the Chicago White Sox, 5-0,  for their fifth consecutive win. It's only the second time this season that Boston's won five straight, and they haven't yet won six straight, so today's game should be interesting. 

Last night, rookie Jake Bennett pitched seven solid innings, giving up no runs, only four hits, and four K's. The bullpen (Weissert and Morán) was perfect - no hits, no runs, and two Morán strikeouts.

Meanwhile, all the scoring occurred in the third and fourth innings. Cheng and Rafaela had RBI base hits in the third, and then Seigler scored on a wild pitch. Cheng had another RBI in the fourth and Narvaez brought Yoshida home with a single that inning. With Bennett's pitching and the bullpen, those five runs were more than enough for the Red Sox to win the game.

Contreras and Seigler both left the game with apparent foot contusions. A loss of Contreras would be devastating, especially at this resurgent point in the season, but if it's "only" a contusion and with the All-Star break coming up, the impact may be muted.

The Red Sox (42-48) are now twelve games back from first-place Tampa Bay, who beat the Yankees -  again - last night. Winning the AL East isn't a realistic goal, despite the enthusiasm we may be feeling right now on this 10-2 run we're on, but Boston is once again only three games back in the Wild Card race, with four teams, all below .500, ahead of them. 

We're going to the World Series, baby!  

But first we need to wrap up this series in Chicago. Patrick Sandoval returns from a years-long stint on the IL and will make his first Red Sox appearance today, as well as his first time on the mound since June 21 back in 2024.  He's a career 0-3 against the White Sox, but that's based on three starts for the Angels, which has to be taken into consideration. 

The Pale Hose will start veteran Anthony Kay (6-3, 4.29), who's never started against the Red Sox and has only faced Boston in relief appearances, none since July 2023 when he was pitching for the other Chicago team.

A win today (2:10 pm) would be huge for Boston. It would be both the first consecutive sweep of two teams this season as well as the first six-game win streak of the year. And with three games against the woeful Mets (39-54) next, it sets us up to potentially sweep three in a row, and complete a 9-0 run before the break.

World Series. We're going to the World Series, baby!

         

 

Red Sox 6, White Sox 1

 

As of last night, the Boston Red Sox are no longer the worst team in the AL East.

Peyton Tolle pitched six innings of shutout, two-hit baseball, striking out six and giving up only one walk. Tolle is the first Red Sox pitcher since Dennis Eckersley in 1978 to make at least four starts of 6.0-plus innings while allowing zero earned runs in a single season.

Meanwhile, both Monasterio and Rafaela homered in the first to give Boston an early, 3-0 lead. Wong made it 4-0 in the fourth with a sac fly, and then in the top of the ninth, Contreras, Gonzalez, and Durran added all the insurance one could want with a pair of RBI doubles and a single. 

That's four straight wins for the Sox, a feat they've only managed once before this season when they swept the Yankees. Since that series against New York started back on June 25, the Red Sox have gone 9-2, and finally (finally!) out of the AL East basement. They're now in fourth place, a half-game ahead of Baltimore and 12½ back from the Rays, who beat the Yankees last night. 

Rooke Jake Bennett (3-3, 3.10) will face the White Sox tonight for the first time in his short career (he only came up to the majors on May 1). He'll be opposite Chicago's Davis Martin (9-3, 3.08), who's started twice against Boston. Last year, he went six innings against the Red Sox, striking out six but also giving up six hits (one earned run) in an 11-1 Chicago blowout. 

Let's hope for better results tonight.

Red Sox 7, Angels 5

 

So, the good news is that the Red Sox won last night, 7-5, and completed a sweep of the Angels in L.A. It's Boston's fourth sweep of the season, following sweeps in Detroit and Kansas City and back home over the Yankees earlier this season. 

The bad news is that Ranger Suarez left the game with an apparent groin injury, adding him to the list of Boston pitchers on the IL that includes Connelly Early, Garrett Crochet, Kutter Crawford, Tanner Houck, and Patrick Sandoval.

But about last night . . . Last night, Duran hit a two-run homer in the second and Contreras hit a three-run homer in the third. Yoshida hit a RBI single in the seventh after Abreu scored a run with a sacrifice fly that same inning. After Suarez left the game in the third inning with three runs, the bullpen locked down and held the Angels scoreless until Slaten gave up an RBI single in the eighth. Chapman gave up a solo homer in the ninth because of course he did - that's what he does now.

Not to gloat, but the Angels are in last place in the AL West and now have the distinction of the worst record (36-55) in MLB. So a sweep is nice, but anything else would be an embarrassment.  

The Rays lost last night, their second straight "L," so the Red Sox (40-48) are now 12½ games back. The Yankees lost as well; in fact, every team in the AL East lost last night except for the Sox, who are still in last place but now only a half game back from fourth-place Baltimore. Bonus points: the Rays and the Yankees start a four-game series in Tampa Bay tonight, so Boston has a chance to sneak up in the standings while the two leaders duke it out at the top.

The Red Sox are off today, and tomorrow start a three-game series in Chicago against the White Sox (47-42), the top team in the AL Central. Payton Tolle (4-6, 3.39), who, surprisingly for a Boston pitcher, isn't out injured, will start the first game. This will be Tolle's first time pitching in Chicago or facing the White Sox. The Pale Hose will start rookie Noah Schultz (2-5, 5.86), who hasn't yet faced the Red Sox in his career. 

Arctic Update

 

Before heading up to the Arctic, we first need to acknowledge that former Hudson River whitewater guide Kelsey Pfendler completed her trip from Monterey, California to Oahu, Hawaii. Rowing her 21-foot boat, Lily, solo, she shattered both the men's and women's records in 43 days, 17 hours, and 55 minutes. She became the first and youngest American woman to row the mid-Pacific trip solo. Congratulations.

Meanwhile, way up north on Saint Paul Island in the Bering Sea, English captain Ella Hibbert is still prepping her boat, the Yeva, to complete her solo circumnavigation of the Arctic Ocean. She's been on St. Paul since mid-May, prepping and repainting the Yeva since mid-May, getting everything ship-shape before heading back out. Once she sets sail, she'll pass north over Russia and Scandinavia to return to her original starting point west of Iceland.  

Ice-free conditions on the Kara Sea generally don't begin until mid-July and last through mid-October, so there's no reason for Hibbert to head out any earlier. In fact, it would be foolish to start too soon, as she'd only be waiting from her boat for the ice to clear while needlessly consuming fuel, food, and supplies. However, she's now gotten the Yeva out of drydock and into the water, and hopefully has taken her for a few test runs.

Meanwhile, Brazilian explorer, adventurer and author Tamara Klink is in Homer, Alaska, reunited with her ship, the Sardinha 2. She posted some pics on Instagram of her and a crew priming, painting, and repairing the boat after it's long winter dry-docking in Homer. 

I've visited Homer twice, once in 1994 and again in '95 - marvelous little town, friendly people, lots of bars. The Key West of Alaska, in that it's at the end of the road on a long spit off an even longer peninsula. There's nowhere further to go from Homer other than to turn around and head back, although I convinced someone there to ferry me and my backpacking buddy across Kachemak Bay to the roadless Kenai mainland for a taste of true wilderness camping. No one there but a sky full of air, 40,000 grizzles, and me (and my friend). Intimidating, but a great reminder of what it feels like to not be on the top of the food chain. And to trust some random boat dude to keep his promise to come back and pick us up the next day (he did).  

But this isn't a post about me. What captain Klink plans to do this summer on the Sardinha is anyone's guess. Sail the boat back down to Brazil? Travel back through the Northwest Passage again, but this time in the opposite direction? Follow Hibbert on the so-called Northeast Passage over Russia and into the Atlantic? We'll have to continue to follow her social media posts to find out.  

Red Sox 8, Angels 1

 

Two wins in a row as the Red Sox clinch a road series win. Contreras and Gonzalez both homered for a combined five runs, and Abreu and Rafaela both doubled for three more. Duran stole second base twice in the game, but got stranded both times. Still, nice effort. Sonny Gray pitched six innings with seven K's and the only run of the game, and the bullpen shut out the A's over the last three innings.

The Sox make winning look so easy when they play baseball well.  

Meanwhile, Tampa Bay finally figured out a way to lose a game last night, so the Sox move up one game in the standings. They're still in last place in the AL East and a dismal 13½ back, but at least they moved up one.

Ranger Suarez (4-3, 2.94) pitches tonight in the series finale. In 8½ years on the mound, Suarez has only started one game against the Angels, a July 20, 2025 game in Philly where he gave up six earned runs in a 8-2 L.A. win. One could assume that he'd like to avenge that loss. Ryan Johnson (1-3, 7.40) will face the Sox tonight for the first time in his two-year career when he starts for the Angels.

Let's sweep those Angels so we have some positive momentum when we travel to Chicago to next play the Pale Hose.

Red Sox 5, Angels 2

 

The 2026 Boston Red Sox apparently are road warriors. Setting aside their improbable four-game home sweep of the Yankees, they're 13-27 in Fenway, but .500 (21-21) on the road. They evened up, or "equalized" as our World Cup friends like to say, their road record last night with a 5-2 win in Anaheim.

Jake Bennett pitched a fine game, lasting a full 7⅔ innings and had a no-hitter going through four. He struck out six batters before finally giving up a homer and a one-run single in the eighth. Whitlock finally got us out of the inning, and then . . . Then, Aroldis Chapman took over in the ninth and set a new major-league record for the most strikeouts (1,364) by a reliever in MLB history.     

Meanwhile, on the other side of the plate, Duran had two RBI hits, Gonzalez hit a two-run double, and Durbin hit a homer in the fifth.

Tonight, the formidable Sonny Grey (9-1, 2.69) starts for Boston against the Angel's Sam Aldegheri. Gray is a career 4-4 against the Angels, and in his last appearance against them, playing for the Cardinals, he struck out nine but gave up five runs.  Aldegheri has only pitched two innings against the Sox, a middle-relief stint back on June 5 last year, resulted in two unearned runs, in a see-saw Red Sox victory, much to the delight of a fictional little girl.

Burlap Heroes

 

I'm not sure how I missed this up to this point, but tomorrow, solo rower Kelsey Pfendler is expected to complete a 2,400-mile journey from Monterey, California to Oahu, Hawaii. Pfendler is the first American woman and third woman overall to attempt the solo trip, and will also be the youngest (32) woman to complete the feat. She is on pace to break both the men's and women's record for the trip. 

Her trip began, totally alone, on May 21 in her 24-foot fiberglass boat. Nearly 43 days later, she has traveled 2,258 nautical miles and estimates she will make landfall at Oahu around 11 p.m. on Friday.

The current women’s record was set in 2020 by the U.K.'s Lia Ditton, who completed the journey in 86 days, 10 hours, and 5 minutes. If Pfendler maintains her current pace, she will shatter that record.

She is also on pace to break the men's record held by Rob Eustace, also of the U.K., who completed the journey in 52 days, 13 hours, and 17 minutes in 2014.

Pfendler is originally from New York's Adirondack Mountain region and is a former whitewater raft guide. In an interview, she said, "On my 18th birthday, my mom took me on a whitewater rafting trip. I was infatuated. I cornered the guide after the trip to ask how I could become a raft guide. I showed up every day for the rest of the summer and worked for free to get my license." She went on to guide on the Arkansas River in Colorado and the Colorado in the Grand Canyon. 

I worked as an Adirondack raft guide on the Hudson River in the late 1980s and early 90s, long before Pfendler's fateful trip. I got the job in much the same way as she - hanging around after a rafting trip and bugging the guides on how I could become one of them. I got my license in 1987 and went on to guide for one season on the Cheat River in West Virginia. For the record, I've never rowed from California to Hawaii, so there's that.  

Burlap heroes are those who recognize living as a heroic act - the occupiers of sun-up barstools; the cubicle-planted; the ghosts of Greyhounds; the reasonably sketchy. A burlap hero is one who marches, consciously or not, back to the sea in hopes of making no splash, who understands and embraces the imperfection of being, and in that way, stretches the definition of sainthood to fit. - Nate Wooley

The Boston Brown Out

Sweat Dissolves Water is saddened to note that the Boston Celtics have traded five-time All-Star and 2024 Finals MVP Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers for 36-year-old Paul George and two future first-round draft picks.

It's almost enough to make us want to switch allegiances to some other team. 

After winning an NBA Championship and then rebuilding after Jayson Tatum's 2025 injury, the Celtics have apparently decided to emulate the Red Sox and trade away their top talent (to a division rival, no less), prioritizing front-office profit over winning. 

I'm no Nostradamus, but here's a sneak preview of the Celtics' future: they will finish third in the Atlantic Division behind the Knicks and the Sixers in the 2026-27 season, miss the playoffs, and then things will go downhill from there. We'll soon be looking back at the 2013-14 season (25-57) with fondness. 

The pride of Marietta, Georgia, Brown attended Wheeler High School. He lead Wheeler to a 30-3 record in his senior year and to victory in the Georgia Class 6A State Championship. The Celtics are the only NBA team for whom he's played. Celtics' management has done him dirty and are showing callous disregard for their fans.

We here at Sweat Dissolves Water are biologically incapable for cheering for the Knicks or the Sixers. Fuck them. There's also no way we're getting on board with the Lakers, Warriors, or Spurs. Can we swallow our pride and cheer for our hometown Atlanta Hawks? I doubt it - they're a heart-break team.  Jokić's not enough for us to support the Nuggets, so I guess we're stuck with our old friends Jrue Holiday, Timelord Robert Williams III, and the Portland Trailblazers?

Go, Blazers? No, that doesn't feel right.

We're sickened and saddened and shocked. Thank you for your years here, Jaylen, and thank you for the 18th banner. You'll be missed. 

Nationals 10, Red Sox 2

 

No trophies again, but no excuses either - the Red Sox were blown out at home by the Washington Nationals and lose the series, two games to one  It's back to their underperforming selves ,apparently.

Payton Tolle gave up an uncharacteristic six runs - two in the first inning and four more in the fourth. The bullpen gave up another four runs, a fifth in that fourth inning disaster to make it 7-0, and then three in the seventh. The Nats walked in a Boston run in the seventh inning and as long as the bases were loaded, the Sox squeezed out another run that inning, but that was it offensively. 

Two straight losses after their first home sweep and winning five in a row for the first time this year. At least we're not the New York fucking Yankees, who've lost seven straight games. 

Still, the last-place Red Sox are 13½ back from first. and about to start a nine-game road trip through the basements of the MLB - three against the last-place L.A. Angels (36-51) and three against the last place Mets (36-51), with the first-place Chicago White Sox (45-40) sandwiched in between. Knowing this year's Sox, they'll probably sweep Chicago and settle for 1-2 losses in L.A. and N.Y. 

They're off tomorrow (travel) but will probably start rookie Jake Bennett (2-3, 3.27) on Friday in L.A. The Angels will likely open with veteran Reid Detmar, who was a reliever last season before returning to a starter this year. Detmar is a career 3-1 against Boston with one save, 34 K's and only one home run, so our work is cut out for us.       

Nationals 8, Red Sox 1

 

No trophies tonight, but that's okay. Nothing lasts forever, and we should celebrate that the five-game win streak existed at all, not mourn that it ended.

If we're inclined to mourn, what we should be mourning is that young Connelly Early left the game early after four shutout innings and five K's.  Danny Coulombe started the fifth inning and gave up a run, and he was relieved by Greg Weissert, who gave up two runs. "You gave up a run? Let me show you how to do it - here's two runs."

And so it goes. Slaten gave up a run and then Tommy Kahnle gave up a whopping four. But that's not what people are talking about in this game.

In the top of the fourth, punk Washington pitcher Cade Cavalli struck out Willson Contreras, who had scored Boston's only run, and as Contreras was walking to the dugout, said something to him that Willson apparently didn't like. He looked back at Cavalli as if to say, "You talking to me?" and as the two walked directly toward each other, both dugouts and bullpens cleared.

A skirmish. In parts of Boston, a series without at least one benches-clearing brawl is considered a dull affair.

Pushing and shoving ensued and Carlos Narvaez tried to hold Contreras back. But Contreras broke free and sprinted toward the opposing players. Removing his helmet, he threw it into the swarm of players in Cavalli's direction. Several Boston players eventually pulled him back, but he got ejected. So did pitcher Nate Eaton and manager Chad Tracy. Nationals pitcher Miles Mikolas was also ejected. Cavalli, the loud-mouth little bitch who started it all, was not.

So the homestand series is tied at one each. Payton Tolle (4-5, 2.78) will start the rubber match tomorrow (1:35 p.m.) in his first career start against the Nats. Washington will send Andrew Alvarez (1-1, 3.44) to the mound for his first start against the Sox. I dare, I double dare, Alvarez to say something, anything, to Contreras when he's at the plate. You're a pussy if you don't, Andrew.  

But the brawl and the end of the win streak obscure the real issue in today's game - young Connelly Early joins starting pitchers Garrett Crochet, Kutter Crawford, Patrick Sandoval, and Tanner Houck, on the Injured List. You could put together a pretty good starting rotation just with the players on Boston's IL. Let's hope it's nothing serious on Early, and that the others return to action sooner rather than later.

Red Sox 6, Nationals 3

 

Another day, another trophy. The Boston Red Sox, fresh off their four-game sweep of the New York Yankees and well into the greatest team turnaround in the history of sports, won their fifth straight game today, the first time this season they've won five straight.  

Washington scored first and in the first, but both Contreras and Durbin homered in the bottom of the inning to give Boston a 4-1 lead. Abreu and Narváez both hit RBI sac flies in the second and third to make it 6-1, Boston, while Suarez struck out eight over six innings before giving up a two-run double. The bullpen held on (no Chapman appearance) and the Red Sox are a perfect 5-0 so far in this home stand.

The team dug themselves into a deep hole this season, so despite the 5-0 run, the Red Sox (37-46) are still in last place, 12 games back from idle Tampa Bay.  And they're still only 17-25 at home. And not that it makes any difference to us, but it's still just so much fun to note, the Yankees lost to Detroit tonight, their fifth straight loss and eighth in their last ten games. Yankees suck.

Tomorrow, young Connelly Early (7-5, 3.59) will take the mound against the Nats' Cade Cavalli (4-4. 4.06). It will be Early's fist time pitching to the Nationals, just as it will be Cavalli's first start against Boston. Anything can happen. No one knows. But the Sox are 1½ run favorites to win the game.