The Boston Red Sox bested the New York Mets 3-2 in 10 innings to finish the first half of the 2026 MLB season with 9 wins in a row.
Although the Red Sox have an overall losing record of 46-48, they have enjoyed a remarkable reversal of fortune over the past 2½ weeks. They are now only ½ game back of both the Seattle Mariners and the Minnesota Twins for the third AL Wild Card spot.
After earning an AL Wild Card berth last season, the Red Sox struggled to get out of the gate. After a 10-17 start, the Red Sox abruptly fired manager Alex Cora and nearly the entire coaching staff. The team Chad Tracy, who had been the manager of the Red Sox's Triple-AAA affiliate in Worcester as their interim manager.
Things were little better under Tracy. Between April 25th and June 24th, the team went 21-29 under Tracy's stewardship. As of June 24th, the Red Sox had just lost two out of three games to the Colorado Rockies who had the worst record in all of MLB. Overall, the Bosox were 32-46 & 15½ games back of the New York Yankees and in last place in the AL East, 6 games back of the third AL Wild Card spot. For bad measure, they also had the worst record in the AL.
But then a funny thing happened. The Red Sox hosted a four-game series against the Yankees at Fenway and swept the Bronx Bombers. The sweep was highlighted by a near no-hitter by veteran pitcher Sonny Gray.
However, the good feelings appeared to have been short-lived after the Red Sox lost two of out of three games against the Washington Nationals. In both losses, Red Sox first baseman Wilson Contreras was ejected. In the latter game, Contreras exploded after Nationals pitcher Cade Cavalli uttered a racial epithet against him. Contreras has been the team's best offensive player hitting .285 with 20 HR and 61 RBI earning him a second career All-Star selection.
The long and the short of it is that the Red Sox have rallied around Contreras and have not lost since the incidents in question. Since June 25th, the Red Sox are 14-2 and have forced themselves back into contention.
What is remarkable is that outside of Contreras, the Red Sox do not have much of an offense. They do have a good outfield with Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela & Wilyer Abreu with third baseman Caleb Durbin filling the lofty shoes left by Alex Bregman in free agency. But their offense has been generally anemic with their 382 runs scored the second fewest in the AL. The Cleveland Guardians have scored two fewer runs although they go into the All-Star Break tied for first in the AL Central with the Chicago White Sox.
The Red Sox strength has been in their starting pitching led by a resurgent Sonny Gray who did not get selected for the All-Star Team despite his 11-1 record. The back end of their bullpen in Garrett Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman has to be among the very best in baseball.
Come Friday, however, the Red Sox will be tested as they host a four-game series against the first place Tampa Bay Rays. Despite the Red Sox recent resurgence, the team has struggled at Fenway going 17-27 as opposed to a 29-21 record on the road. Both All-Star Ranger Suarez and Connelly Early are on the IL as is Garrett Crochet. How far can Gray and Peyton Tolle go before the bell tolls? And will four days off halt the momentum they have built up since late June?
At least for the moment, the 2026 Red Sox are headed in the right direction. If the Red Sox continue to excel then perhaps Chad Tracy will be get the interim tag removed and become the team's full-fledged manager.
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