The Boston Red Sox just made the most intimidating statement to the rest of the MLB, capping off their most significant series of the season, with a ninth inning comeback and walk off win in extra innings against the New York Yankees..
After the Red Sox got a bit of separation going into the All Star break, everyone could see the significance of this series. After the Red Sox won all four games, you can see the damage it did, as the Yankees are on the verge of dropping double digit games behind the Red Sox.
The Red Sox firmly control their destiny, and they are making it clear that the path to the world series is going to have to go through Fenway Park, also avoiding that dreaded wild card showdown.
Everyone could see that the Red Sox were playing some of the best baseball in the MLB leading up to this series. After their four straight victories, the Red Sox made it clear that they have both the pitching and hitting depth to blow by any team in the MLB, because it allows them to win in so many different ways.
Pitching is the most significant, because this was one of the more impressive pitching series’ we have seen in a while for the Red Sox. And they did that without their best pitcher and Cy Young favorite Chris Sale.
The top end talent of the Red Sox has been really something special. They have two MVP candidates in Mookie Betts and J.D Martinez, and they delivered in this series.
Betts finished the series batting over .400, with five runs scored and a home run. Martinez also matched those same numbers, except he finished with just four runs scored. The two of them showed up, but this is what we expect now. The Red Sox did not blow open these series because of the two of them, even though they did a great job of playing to their incredible standard.
The most notable player in the series was Steve Pearce, who made it clear that the Red Sox are going to have reliable power behind their biggest bats, with four home runs in just three games. Andrew Benintendi got his season batting average up above .300, had four RBIs in four games, and capped off the series win with a walkoff hit.
Both Ian Kinsler and Mitch Moreland added multi hit games of their own. The Red Sox made it clear that they will kill you with power, kill you with their ability to get on base, and there is no where for a pitcher to hide with this lineup. The Red Sox can be overwhelming, and they can win in so many different ways on offense.
On the pitching side, the Red Sox did something really special in this series. Not having Sale makes it even more significant, because they had stellar pitching in every one of these games, and some true masterpieces.
Rick Porcello barely made sense with his 86 pitch complete game win. David Price finally dealt with some of his demons against the Yankees, and newly added Nathan Eovaldi had eight shut out innings of his own. Every single Red Sox starter had an advantage in this one, and they will be adding their best pitching weapon on top of that if they are going to meet in the playoffs.
Craig Kimbrel had a bit of a scare, but the bull pen held down every lead they needed. They did not have to do much, but the bull pen did nothing to hold back what the team was doing. The Red Sox made it clear that they have the talent at every position to avoid weaknesses, and maintain a standard of play with pitching and hitting that has lead to such a successful season so far.
This series was complete and dominant, and the Red Sox made it clear that they are ready to pounce on a pitcher that is struggling, with 15 runs in the first game. Even better, the Red Sox made it clear that they will flourish in close battles and even if they got lucky with an error on a route ground out, they are clearly ready to mount a comeback against any closer at any time.
The Red Sox made a statement here and they are on the verge of running away with this division in a special way. The Red Sox have made it clear that they are the best team in the MLB right now, they can have success on both ends, and they are going to be the most daunting team to play when they are at full strength in the playoffs.
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