They didn’t always do well, but they survived.
When the Red Sox return home on Friday to face the red-hot Diamondbacks, they could well be in worse shape.
Arizona marks the end of a brutal series that began four weeks ago against the Yankees. Since then, the Red Sox have played every game against either a playoff team or the defending World Series champion Rangers.
The Red Sox have a 13-12 record in those 25 games, which won’t put them out of contention for the championship, but it hasn’t put them out of contention. They remain 3.5 games behind the Royals and Twins in the AL wild-card standings, making them surmountable.
They’ve been in a tight spot lately, with bullpen breakdowns costing them games against the Yankees, Astros and Rangers. But they’ve also shown their typical resilience, winning their last two games in Houston with 8.1 shutout innings from the maligned bullpen.
“We have a good team. We know that,” manager Alex Cora told reporters in Houston, including MLB.com. “But the cool thing is they don’t get carried away by it. They’re humble, they’re hungry.”
The Diamondbacks, who won the National League championship last year, pose another challenge this weekend. Arizona was just one game over .500 at the All-Star break and trailed the Dodgers by seven games, but rallied in the second half to win the National League’s first wild card, 23-8, and move to within four games of Los Angeles in the division. The D-backs are the proverbial team no one wants to play in the playoffs, and for good reason.
The athletic Red Sox might be the AL version, but it will be a continuation of their last 36 hours in Houston, when the setup corps managed to put out fires rather than start them. If they finish this weekend, however, they’ll have their last and best opportunity to string together some easy wins.
From August 26 to September 8, the Red Sox face only one team with a winning record, the Mets, whose season has followed a remarkably similar trajectory to Boston’s. Otherwise, we’re talking 10 games against the Blue Jays, Tigers and White Sox, all of whom are under .500. The Red Sox haven’t had such a streak since June, when they had six wins in eight games against the Reds and Blue Jays. Wins against bad teams count no less.
From there, it’s back into the AL East meat grinder to end the season, with a potentially decisive series against the wild-card rival Twins thrown in. There’s not much room for error there, especially since the Rays have improbably stayed afloat after giving up half their roster and continue to pose a pesky threat of spoilers.
However, given expectations that were nonexistent at the start of the season, we’re betting on meaningful baseball in September. Just hold your own against Arizona and then battle the scum. Then we’ll see how things look in two weeks.
