The Boston Red Sox entered the season’s second half as sellers. They’re now doing something the franchise hasn’t managed in 114 years.
Boston swept a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox with a 4-0 win Wednesday. That extended their winning streak to nine consecutive series. According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today and the Elias Sports Bureau, that mark hasn’t been matched by the Red Sox since 1912.
A Turnaround Few Saw Coming for the Red Sox
GettyBoston Red Sox star Willson Contreras.
Boston finished the first half of the season at 46-48. That record had the front office treating the team as sellers heading toward the trade deadline. Everything changed once the Red Sox embarked on a nine-game road winning streak in late July. A fringe roster turned into one of the hottest teams in baseball.
That surge has carried Boston from 10 games under .500 to 11 games over. It’s a swing that’s pushed the Red Sox into third place in the American League East. They’re now firmly in wild card contention. Along the way, Boston has continued facing its longtime rival, the New York Yankees, in a division race that’s suddenly become far more competitive than anyone expected in June.
The Last Time Boston Did This
The 1912 Red Sox remain the only other Boston team to string together this kind of series-winning stretch. That run went from August 4 to September 15 of that year. The squad finished the season 105-47. They went on to beat the New York Giants in the World Series.
That championship came during a historic stretch for the franchise. Fenway Park had just opened that April, the same week the Titanic sank. Boston’s roster featured standout performances from pitcher Joe Wood, who finished 34-5, and outfielder Tris Speaker, who batted .383 with 222 hits, 53 doubles, 10 home runs, 90 RBIs, 136 runs scored, and 52 stolen bases. It marked Boston’s first championship since winning the inaugural World Series back in 1903. The franchise went on to add titles in 1915, 1916, and 1918.
Final Word for the Red Sox
A century-plus later, Boston is chasing a very different kind of history. This one is built on a midseason turnaround rather than a dominant wire-to-wire campaign. The circumstances look nothing alike. But the record now sits alongside one of the most storied stretches in franchise history.
Whatever comes next, Boston has already turned an afterthought of a season into one worth watching.
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