Red Sox 6, Rays 1

 

Holy. Fucking. Shit. Un-freaking-believable. The Boston Red Sox, a month ago one of the worst teams in major-league baseball seemingly all but incapable of winning at home, have completed a four-game sweep of the first-place Tampa Bay Rays in Fenway, after sweeping the second-place Yankees in four at home late last month. They've won 13 straight games, a feat Boston hasn't achieved since 1948, back in the days of Ted Williams. 

I'm going to keep posting these trophies as long as they keep winning. It's not superstitious if it works. 

At the start of the All-Star break, back when this streak was at nine consecutive wins, I was worried about Boston collapsing in the second half of the season. My best hope was that the Sox could get a 2-2 split in this series with Tampa Bay - a sweep seemed like too much to even wish for. But despite my Calvinistic clouds of self-doubt, the Red Sox kept winning, taking the first game of the series. And winning, taking the second game of the opening double header. And winning, coming from behind yesterday. And then winning again today, completing the sweep.            

And none of those were easy wins. Once again, the Rays scored first, this time on a solo home run in the second inning off of starter Sonny Gray. As it turned out, that would be the only Tampa Bay score of the game. Gray went six innings with five K's, five hits, and only that one run. 

The Sox answered in the bottom of the second, tying the game on an Andruw Monasterio RBI double. New guy Jahmai Jones walked to start the third, and then advanced to second when yesterday's hero, Wilyer Abreu, got hit by a pitch. Tampa Bay starter Shane McClanahan (wasn't Shane McClanahan the singer for The Pogues?) walked Willson Contreras, loading the bases, and then Jones came home from third on a Rays' fielding error. Abreu came home when Caleb Durbin hit into a fielder's choice, and Contreras came home on a Romy Gonzalez ground out. 4-1, Boston, after three. 

To put an exclamation point on the game, Contreras hit a two-run homer in the fifth for the final score of 6-1. 

The Red Sox are now six back from the Rays. The Yankees lost the first game of a doubleheader against the Dodgers - a second loss today would put them a mere three games ahead of Boston.  In the Wild Card standings, they're two games ahead of Minnesota, who lost today. As I write, Seattle, currently 1½ back from Boston in the Wild Card race, are tied with San Francisco, 2-2, after four innings. 

Thirteen back-to-back consecutive wins. It's still hard to fathom. Is this the real life? 

The fourth-place Baltimore Orioles (48-51) come to Fenway next to challenge the streak. Payton Tolle (5-6, 3.11) will start the first of the three-game home series. Tolle faced the Birds on June 3, back when we still sucked, and struck out five over six shutout innings. The O's will start Shane Boz (4-9, 4.19), who struck out six over seven innings on June 2 (back when we still sucked), but gave up two runs. 

For those of you wondering and so that you don't have to ask, the all-time Red Sox record is 15 straight wins back in 1946 (the Fightin' Forties!). Not to jinx the team or anything, but a sweep of Baltimore in this series would set a new franchise record.