The last two times the Red Sox won the American League East, in 2007 and 2013, they were named World Series Champions a month later. With a week left in the 2016 regular season, they have accomplished this feat. Before September, the Red Sox had seemingly left a lot on the table. However, the team has since hit its stride.
The Sox have won 18 out of their last 24 games, with 16 of them by at least five runs. So you could say the Red Sox are swinging hot bats. With the contributions from recent call up of Outfielder Andrew Benintendi, who is hitting .322 in 90 at bats, second baseman Dustin Pedroia, who is hitting almost .330 in the last 30 days, and first baseman Hanley Ramirez, who is hitting .353 with 12 home runs in the last 30 days, you could say the team’s lineup has grabbed the attention of pitchers across Major League Baseball.
The team’s rotation hasn’t been too bad either. American League Cy Young Candidate Rick Porcello has continued his winning ways throughout the season, with a 22-4 record and a 3.11 era. David Price has also begun pitching much better after a rocky start to his Red Sox career. After signing a massive seven year/$217 million contract, Price had begun to make fans uneasy. Since the All-Star break, however, Price has shown ace quality pitching, with a 8-3 record and a 3.67 era in 15 starts. Clay Buchholz has also settled in nicely after a lot of speculation about a possible trade. So, the rotation has done well despite the less than mediocre efforts of recently acquired Drew Pomeranz and youngster Eduardo Rodriguez.
As the season winds down, Red Sox fans hope that the team stays hot for the rest of the season and for a potential World Series run. A four game sweep of the New York Yankees at the start of September had people feeling good about these objectives and sparked a 11 game winning streak that coincidentally ended in New York on Tuesday night. Only time will tell if the Red Sox can carry their success deep into the postseason.