There are 97 days remaining in baseball’s regular season.
But on this day, the 24th of June, 89 days into the season, the Boston Red Sox are one of the majors’ 12 playoff teams.
Boston kept the Big Red (Sox) Machine rolling with a 7-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday, capping a three-game series victory following a 5-2 defeat on Friday and a bounce-back, come-from-behind 4-3 victory Saturday.
Once seemingly destined for a year-long waltz with .500, the Sox are now 42-36 — a season-high six games over .500 after winning 10 of their last 13 games, including four consecutive series victories over the Phillies, Yankees, Blue Jays and now Reds.
In it. pic.twitter.com/VTLdNsDE2G
— NESN (@NESN) June 23, 2024
“Overall, a great team performance,” Alex Cora said after Sunday’s series-clinching triumph. “We finished the trip the right way. We played well, there was a lot of energy. … It’s fun to watch.”
What is perhaps most encouraging about this nearly two-week stretch has been the Red Sox’s ability to find multiple ways to win. On Sunday, it was the long ball that carried them to victory after both Rob Refsnyder and Connor Wong slugged two-run blasts while staking a 7-1 lead.
On Saturday, the Red Sox needed to dig deep and find a way to rally trailing 3-1 through five innings. They did just that, with a Wong RBI double, a Refsnyder two-run single and a Rafael Devers sacrifice fly to cap it all off.
During their three-game series in Toronto, it was consistency on both sides of the ball that carried them to a sweep. Boston’s pitchers allowed no more than three runs in each game, while scoring a pair of 7-3 victories while also seeking out a 4-3 win in the process.
And a week ago Sunday, the Sox were able to manufacture runs while swiping a franchise-record nine bases to clinch the series against the Yanks.
"We just kept it simple like we did all week, and we stayed with the plan, and we didn’t (stray) away from it,” said Jarren Duran, who on Sunday was 3 for 5 with an RBI double, an RBI single and a stolen base for good measure. “I’m really proud of what we did.”
So what is it that has allowed this team with clearly subpar talent across the board to finally be able to flip the switch a bit? For one, ingenuity. While there definitely has been some player development, it’s not like the talent level of this roster suddenly went from a “C-“ to a “B+” overnight.
Instead, it’s been the work of Cora and the coaching staff to utilize the strengths of their roster — speed, contact hitting, youthful grit and determination.
From Andrew Bailey’s rejuvenation of the pitching staff at the beginning of the season to Cora’s marionette-ing and pushing the right buttons with the position players of late, the Red Sox’s organization really has been coaching their butts off this season…
Is this all sustainable? Usually, over the course of 162 games, the answer is no. A lack of talent comes back to bite you. But here we are halfway through the season, and the team we all thought would be well outside the playoff picture has clawed its way back.
“It was going to be a grind, but we grinded thorough it,” Duran said.
Duran, Duran (and Wong)
Remember when I said I didn’t want to just give Jarren Duran away at the trade deadline?
Well, this is why.
Duran is a game-changing talent when he’s clicking on all cylinders, and he’s certainly been doing plenty of that lately. The 27-year-old outfield speedster has been a key cog in Boston’s four-series winning streak, particularly at the plate.
Over his last 11 games dating back to the Phillies series opener, Duran is batting *checks notes* .500 (19 for 38) with two homers, seven RBIs, four steals and a career-best 13-game hitting streak after Sunday’s performance.
“What Jarren is doing in the leadoff spot is fun to watch,” Cora said.
Duran has been the spark plug the Sox have desperately needed at the top of the lineup, as another one of the fruits of his labor have been the 10 runs he’s scored — crossing the plate in all two of his last 11 games.
Given the chance to gush about his own successes in his postgame NESN interview when asked about his hot stretch, which would have been entirely deserved, Duran pivoted to those of the entire team.
“We’re picking each other up — it’s not just one person,” he said. “You know, one through nine’s doing the job, and I’m so happy — and we’re gonna keep the ball rolling.”
"We just kept it simple like we did all week."
— NESN (@NESN) June 23, 2024
Jarren Duran on the Red Sox 7-4 win over the Reds. @WebsterOnTV | #RedSox pic.twitter.com/EhiMb3Rv3H
Not to be outdone or forgotten, Wong is also riding a hot streak of his own at the dish. He’s also got a career-best 13-game hitting streak going, and while he doesn’t possess the same “wow” factor that Duran plays the game with, his surprising consistency on offense this season has been an integral part of this so far winning season.
By having guys like Duran and Wong near the top of the order, and now with Refsnyder coming to life a little more — although he’s also been consistent from an average standpoint for most of the year, it’s allowing for the big guy — Rafael Devers — to feast.
It’s hard to clear the table when the table isn’t being set for you. That was the case for much of the early season, but the aforementioned trio have been able to put together enough table scraps the likes of Devers to feast.
Gone are the days of Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts atop the lineup, but the collective punch being packed by Duran, Wong and Refsnyder has been plenty to keep the Red Sox firing on all cylinders.
Up next, more tomato cans…
Luckily for the Red Sox, the good times figure to keep rolling as they return home to face the very team they just swept in Toronto three more times at Fenway Park.
With the way the Sox are hitting the ball of late, there’s no reason not to expect another series victory against the Blue Jays. After that, the Padres come to town for three (sans the injured Bogaerts, who told the San Diego Union-Tribune recently that there was “no chance” he would be back in time to make his on-field return at Fenway).
San Diego is fighting the same .500 bug the Red Sox had battled most of the season until recently, owning a 41-41 record as of Sunday night. The Padres have been playing some streaky baseball of late, following up a five-game skid with wins in four of their last five games.
After that, it’ll be a trip to Miami to face the woeful 27-50 Marlins for three games before heading to the Bronx for the first time this season. Overall, the remaining schedule in the first half of the season should be a favorable one… after New York, it’s three games against Oakland and three games against Kansas City (which should be a decent challenge) before heading into the All-Star break.
It’s conceivable that if things break right, the Sox could be more than 10 games over .500 heading into the Midsummer Classic in Texas. I’m going to go ahead and predict that they’ll take a record of 51-43 into the break, and that would go a long way toward solidifying this Sox team as one worth adding to for Craig Breslow…
Gethin Coolbaugh is a columnist for Boston Sports Journal. Follow him @GethinCoolbaugh on X/Twitter.