All these west coast late night games got to me and I forgot to update the AL East Standings on Friday, so instead we get the update on Saturday.
Historically the Red Sox tend to struggle on the west coast, so I had tempered expectations for this last week. However, the Sox were a pleasant surprise. The Sox did lose a series to the Angels to begin the trip, but then they seemed to pull themselves together and have been on a nice win streak since. The Sox won 3 out of 4 games from the Mariners and won the first game of the series with the A's last night.
While the Sox have been winning, so have the Rays. The Rays have moved up the standings and are now in 2nd place behind the Sox. The Rays and the Sox will play a 4 game series the week after the All Star Break, so that'll be an interesting one to watch. However, for right now the Sox are still standing strong and alone on top of the standings. The Sox have taken advantage throughout the season and have with last night's win, they have the most wins prior to the break in club history. The first half has been a wonderful, pleasant surprise for Sox fans.
There is not much coming in the next week because of the All Star Break. The Sox face off against the Athletics for two more games and then head into the break. Right now they have a 5-3 split on the road trip. The As are a strong team, but I still hope the team can take the series. The Sox players shouldn't be overworked in the All Star Game since as of right now only 3 players are going: Ortiz, Pedroia and Buchholz. Buchholz is on the DL and not pitching and Papi is not participating in the HR Derby. It would have been great if Nava and Uehara were on the roster, but the extra rest will do they well.
The Sox come out of the All Star Break and spend the next week facing teams in the AL East. The Sox will face the Yankees and Rays at home and then head to Baltimore to face the Orioles. Let's hope that a rested Sox roster comes out of the break with as much success as they had prior to it.
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