The Boston Red Sox blew a 4-0 lead to the San Diego Padres on Sunday, ultimately losing 8-6. The loss made history for the Red Sox, but not the kind of history that the team or the fans ever wanted to make.
By losing Sunday, the Red Sox dropped their 2026 season-opening record to 2-7. That marks the worst start after nine games for the Red Sox in 81 years.
In 1945, the Red Sox opened the season with eight consecutive losses. If there is any good news from history for the Red Sox, it would be that the 1945 team won their next five in a row and six out of seven following the season-opening eight-game losing streak. But they still finished the season, which was then 154 games, at 71-83, in seventh place in the eight-team American League.
But there was even better news for Red Sox fans who want to draw lessons from the teamâs past. The following season, 1946, the Red Sox reached the World Series, though they lost in seven games to the St. Louis Cardinals.
What will it take for the 2026 Red Sox to engineer the same type of turnaround?
How the Red Sox Can Turn Their Season Around
With just two wins after nine games, the Red Sox not only have their worst record at this stage of the season since 1945, they own the worst record in MLB so far. Four other teams have won three games, but only the Red Sox have managed no more than two victories.
The Red Sox second-year left fielder Roman Anthony, last year’s No. 1 prospect in baseball, declared the team’s start “unacceptable,” in a statement to the media after Sunday’s defeat.
“Itâs unacceptable to the fans, itâs unacceptable to the standard that we set for ourselves,â the 21-year-old star said. âSo, itâs as simple as showing up and doing everything you possibly can whether that be the night before or the day of.â
The Red Sox problems are obviously numerous, but according to MLB.com Red Sox correspondent Ian Browne, one of the major deficiencies is the offense.
“There was a lot of second-guessing that the Red Sox didnât acquire enough firepower in the offseason, and the club pushed back on that narrative in spring training,” Browne wrote on Monday. “However, the early sample size hasnât quieted the concerns about the offense.”
At just 3.0 runs per game, the Red Sox rank 26th of the 30 MLB teams. If any kind of turnaround is going to happen, Red Sox hitters will need to produce at a higher rate.
Does History Give the Red Sox Hope?
It may seem as if the Red Sox can take solace in the historical turnaround from 1945 to 1946, but there is one significant difference between that era and today. In 1945, several of the Red Sox most important players, including Hall of Fame hitter Ted Williams, were gone from the team due to military service in World War II.
Williams returned to the team in 1946, along with second baseman Bobby Doerr, shortstop Johnny Pesky and center fielder Dom DiMaggio. But next year, the Red Sox have most of the same key players under contract as they do in 2026.
But perhaps the Red Sox and their fans can take comfort in the fact that the 2-7 start is far from the worst start in MLB history. That dubious distinction belongs to the 1988 Baltimore Orioles who started that season losing their first 21 games in a row.
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