At 44-39, the Red Sox looked better than expected. Plenty of holes are present with this young club and a handful of players played beyond their (usual) capabilities. But Boston is 8.5 games out of first and only 1.5 games back in the Wild Card race.
Injuries plagued this team and one could imagine where they would be sitting if the team had been healthier. Might they be closer to 50 wins? Or by being forced to use so many players, did the team overperform thanks to perseverance and contributions from the unexpected?
Both, in some regards, and occurrences that should help the Red Sox the final months.
Boston is once again in position to make a playoff push. The Red Sox could be in a spot where they have to make a choice in either pursuing more starting pitching and a bat, simply trade assets, or stay put, and hope the team continues to improve in the coming months.
Boston Red Sox at the plate
The offense was a faucet throughout the first half. Not pouring out runs like water but running hot and cold from game to game.
Boston is seventh in the American League in runs scored. Sitting in the middle makes sense, considering inconsistent efforts. In the three-game set with the Padres, the Red Sox plated a total of seven runs. But in a recent 15-game stretch, where the team went 11-4, the team was much better. In the 11 wins, Boston scored 4+ runs while in the four losses, totaled only eight.
Part of the issue is lack of consistent power. The Red Sox have been creative and have a combination of players delivering when needed. Helping is having seven players with at least 10 doubles.
Only two players, however, have entered double digits with home runs. Tyler O'Neill was swatting them left and right early, battling some injuries, and has slowed. O'Neill is second on the team with 16 home runs (but with only 28 RBI).
It is Rafael Devers who sits atop the team leaderboard with 18. Devers has 45 RBI and is hitting .286, coming on as of late.
First half team MVP goes to Jarren Duran, who is enjoying an All-Star worthy season. Duran enters the first week of July hitting .288 with 99 hits and 10 triples.
Ceddanne Rafaela got off to a slow start but has found better production in June and Connor Wong has been solid all season. Rafaela is hitting .240 with 8 home runs and 41 RBI. Though Rafaela slumped a bit to end the month of June, he hit .303 during the month. Five times he collected three or more hits in a game, including a four for six effort with 4 RBI in a June 6 Boston victory over the White Sox.
Wong is hitting .326 in 59 games.
The rest of the lineup, however it shakes out each week, has been steady. Four players have between 20 and 29 RBI and someone new seems to step up in a variety of ways. Strikeouts do remain a problem and more consistency is needed from the five to eight hitters in the lineup.
The return of Triston Casas should help stabilize things and the Red Sox, to stay healthy, could get a good look at what a solid core can do. If this really gets going in July, Boston will find themselves in true contender status if other aspects of the game get back to good.
Pitching and defense for the Red Sox
After surprising the league through the middle-to-end of May, the starting pitchers for the Red Sox returned to Earth in June.
Into the season, the question marks of the staff belonged to the starting rotation, with the strength given to the bullpen. These were flipped to start the season but reverted to original expectations in recent weeks.
Tanner Houck was the most recent to be bitten by the "bad game" bug. In his start against the Padres, Houck lasted 4.1 innings, surrendering nine hits and eight runs (seven earned). In the game, Houck allowed three home runs, after allowing only two all season prior.
Houck is 7-6 with a 2.67 ERA and 105 strikeouts.
Nick Pivetta has been off and on and Kutter Crawford has declined. Crawford has sort of reverted to form of recent seasons, where he gives the team five or six innings but there is at least one horrible inning mixed in.
Overall, Crawford is 3-7 with a 3.59 ERA.
Most disappointing of the bunch has been Brayan Bello. Signed to a nice extension prior to the season, Bello started off well. And he tossed the occasional strong outing but overall, it's been a struggle for the young pitcher.
Bello is 7-5 with a 5.55 ERA and 64 strikeouts. In five June starts, Bello totaled 24 innings, posting a 1-2 record with a 8.25 ERA. During this span, Bello walked 14 and struck out 20.
While Bello and the rotation had their hiccups, the bullpen is doing well. Standouts include Brennan Bernardino (1.20 ERA in 30 innings), Zach Kelly (1.53 ERA in 29.1 innings), and Kenley Jansen (16 saves, 2.22 ERA).
Defense, like the last couple of seasons, remains a problem for the Red Sox. Miscues and errors played into multiple losses for the Red Sox. Boston's 65 errors are the most in Major League Baseball and their fielding percentage is dead last at .978.
One positive is Devers, who only has six errors. Compared to other seasons, Devers is on pace to post the lowest number of his career. Previous low was 14, last done in 2022.
Twelve games remain for the Red Sox until the All-Star break, with the next six coming on the road. A lot of work is left to be done for any sort of real playoff push. A better picture will shape up in the coming weeks in determining exactly what Boston does closer to the trade deadline. A 7-5 record or better prior to the break should mean a push towards being buyers. Less than .500 during that span? Well, it could mean standing pat or finding the right veterans to use as trade chips. Either way, the Red Sox winning record has provided some first half hope, and in the end, some good baseball.
photo credit: Wikimedia Commons
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