The Boston Red Sox aren't just stacking wins and climbing the standings -- they're dominating some of MLB's top teams and making a statement.
Boston just went on the road and swept the league-leading and reigning two-time champion Los Angeles Dodgers (who had only been swept by the Arizona Diamondbacks from Jul. 10-12 this season) and are now 14-0 against division-leading teams since Jun. 25 (the New York Yankees, who were in first place at the time, the Chicago White Sox, and the Tampa Bay Rays).
Regardless of what ends up happening ahead of Monday's trade deadline (though they really should make another move), the Red Sox are establishing themselves as legitimate contenders. And everybody in baseball needs to keep an eye on them moving forward.
The Red Sox can actually compete for a championship this year
Even when they were in the midst of their 15-game winning streak, I shared the same sentiment many other fans did: this Red Sox team might be good, but they're not title contenders.
But at this point, it's hard to deny what we're seeing. Boston is 28-5 since Jun. 25, has beaten some of the best teams in the majors, and has won nine of its last 10 series, with all the momentum on its side. Plus, with a 60-51 record, the Red Sox are just 2.5 games behind the Yankees and five games behind the Rays in the AL East standings, and they are sitting comfortably in the second AL Wild Card spot.
Boston's turnaround is a big enough sample size at this point to think this is more than a hot streak, and maybe the team finally figured some things out.
The Red Sox' pitching has been one of the best in the majors all season long, even without Garrett Crochet for most of the campaign, and they have had one of the best offenses since the All-Star break (they rank fifth with 89 runs, ninth with 139 hits, second with 26 home runs, and seventh with a .771 OPS during that span).
There is still a lot of baseball left to play, and things can change from now until the end of the season. But the Red Sox continue to prove that they need to be taken seriously, and at this point, maybe they deserve to be in the same conversation as some of the top championship contenders in the majors.
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