Phillies 3, Red Sox 1

 

Sox lose again, Phillies take the series, 2-1, in Fenway, and Boston is 10½ back a quarter of the way through the 2026 season. Amazingly, they're only three games back from Seattle for the last wild-card slot, and wouldn't it be fitting to see them make the postseason just to get eliminated in the first round like the Celtics and the Bruins?. 

What can one say? Ranger Suarez had a no-hitter going against his old team through four innings, and between him and the bullpen, kept the Phillies scoreless through seven. But in the same old, sad song as the rest of the season, the Sox batters failed to score during that stretch, and when the Phillies finally broke through with three runs in the eighth, Boston could only answer with a Wilyer Abreu one-RBI single in the bottom of the inning. 

Oddly enough, the Red Sox have a higher team batting average (.235) than the Yankees (.234), but are second to last in MLB in slugging, total runs, and homers, and third from last in RBIs. Prognosis: they can hit, sometimes, but when they do it's usually weak-ass singles and they can't get the base runners home. I don't anticipate things getting better this long, hot summer.

To add injury to insult, the Sox (18-25) head down here to Atlanta for three games against the Braves, the team with the best record (30-14) in baseball. Tonight, young Connelly Early (3-2, 3.16), who's never pitched in Truist Park, takes the mound against Spencer Strider (1-0, 2.89). The Sox have faced Strider only once before - July 26, 2023 - and struck out 10 times but also got three homers, but those were by Devers, Duvall, and Casas, none of whom are in the Red Sox lineup now. Casas is on the IL, Duvall was traded - to the Braves - and we're still wondering WTF they were thinking when Devers got traded.

Devers, who was the lone remaining player from the team’s 2018 World Series team, was dealt to the Giants last season for Jordan Hicks, Kyle Harrison, James Tibbs, and Jose (not Brayan) Bello, none of whom are still with Boston this season. It's little consolation that Devers is underperforming for the woeful Giants (18-26), who are struggling to trade him away. I've always liked Rafi . . . and he was able to take Spencer Strider 409 feet into deep right in Fenway.