The Boston Red Sox are proving everyone wrong with an excellent continuation of their second half of the season. Coming up short at the trade deadline has worked to their advantage, and they've been putting their opponents on notice as of late.
There isn't a player who's been outperforming everyone else on the team; it's been everyone doing their job and then some. The Red Sox have averaged 3.6 runs per game against, but have averaged 6.2 runs per game offensively.
New acquisitions Dustin May and Steven Matz have been formidable weapons since they arrived in Boston. May has recorded 12 strikeouts in 9.1 innings and has a 2.79 ERA with the club. He just came off an excellent performance yesterday against the Astros, striking out eight batters in six innings while only giving up five hits.
Steven Matz has no runs scored against him in his 3.2 innings pitched in his three appearances, while only giving up one hit. Both of these are smaller sample sizes, but they're still proving their worth, and that's what counts.
The Pitching
The team itself hasn't stopped its torrid pace since the start of July. Garrett Crochet has proven his Cy Young-contending status this season, continuing his torrid pace and competing with Tarik Skubal for the award. He has a 2.92 ERA since July, with 44 strikeouts, and has only given up three home runs in his six games.
Brayan Bello and Lucas Giolito have been great arms for the #2 and #3 slots in the rotation. Bello has a 3.04 ERA since July, with 43 strikeouts in 50.1 innings and his 8 starts. Giolito had a rough two outings against the Cubs and Phillies, but he rebounded in his last three games. In those last three games, he's posted a 2.89 ERA with 10 strikeouts.
Even Walker Buehler has been improving as of late. Albeit, he's still given up 14 walks in his last 33 innings (6 games played), but he's posted a 3.27 ERA since July with 16 strikeouts. His FIP is at 5.07, which means he's being carried by fielding. But if he shortens up those walks in future outings (like tonight against Houston), he'll have a much easier time.
The Red Sox bullpen has been one of the best in baseball since July, posting a 2.48 ERA. This includes Jordan Hicks giving up 9 ER in that period. With all this, and how the bullpen is coming together, the pitching has now become a weapon. That was something the Red Sox had seriously lacked at the beginning of the season. Now they've gotten their stuff together, and it's working in their favor.
The Offense
The headliner has been Roman Anthony. Since July, he's posted a .325 ERA, .954 OPS, 11 doubles, a triple, three home runs, and a .508 slugging percentage in 146 plate appearances with a 15.4% walk rate. Simply put, he's been one of the best hitters in baseball. The best part? He's only 21 years old and the Red Sox just gave him a long-term extension. Boston's going to enjoy this man for a very long time.
Otherwise, Alex Bregman has been awesome since coming back from injury. Since his return on July 11th, he's been batting .310, hitting five home runs, five doubles, and with 15 RBIs, all while maintaining a .540 slugging percentage and an OPS of .922 in 24 games.
Jarren Duran had a slow start to his season, especially with the strikeouts rising up this season to 126 up to this date. However, since then, he's been hitting .300, with an OPS of .987, six home runs, 26 RBIs, 11 doubles, three triples, and 36 hits in 33 games and 120 at-bats. He's also moved from leadoff to the third spot in the lineup and he's benefited from that big-time.
Trevor Story, Carlos Narvaez, and Wilyer Abreu have been excellent contributors as well, although not being as consistent as the other three players. The returning Masataka Yoshida has been pretty good in his return, hitting .257 with two home runs, 11 RBIs, and 18 hits in his 70 at-bats.
Now with the most of the team (except Marcelo Mayer and Triston Casas) have been back from injury, they've been forming into a playoff contender in our very eyes. Their team average has risen to .254, which is #5 in all of baseball. If they keep pace, it'll be a treat to watch in October.