Red Sox keep rolling, sweep Dodgers ahead of trade deadline

The Red Sox made their biggest statement of the season this weekend.

Boston marched into Dodger Stadium and swept the defending World Series champions, capping it off with an 8-4 victory Sunday night to improve to 60-51. The win extended the club’s road dominance to 15 victories in its last 16 games and pushed Boston to 31-8 over its last 39 contests.

After sitting 14 games below .500 earlier this season, the Red Sox are now nine games over .500 and firmly in possession of the second American League Wild Card spot.

With Monday’s trade deadline looming, Boston has done everything it could on the field. Now the pressure shifts to chief baseball officer Craig Breslow to reinforce a club that suddenly looks like a legitimate postseason contender.

The offense flexed its power against Dodgers starter Emmet Sheehan.

Trailing 3-2 in the second inning, the Red Sox launched three solo home runs in a span of four batters. 

Ceddanne Rafaela started the barrage with a 388-foot blast to left before Wilyer Abreu and Masataka Yoshida followed with back-to-back pull-side home runs to put Boston ahead 5-3.

Sheehan never recovered, allowing five runs on six hits while recording just eight outs.

Rafaela’s torrid second half continued.

The All-Star center fielder homered four times during the three-game series with Los Angeles and now has seven home runs in 17 games since the All-Star break. His 15th homer of the season leaves him just one shy of matching the career-high 16 he set in 2025.

Boston had already put pressure on Sheehan in the opening inning.

Nick Sogard drew a leadoff walk before Abreu singled. Yoshida and Caleb Durbin followed with RBI singles to give the Red Sox a quick 2-0 lead before the Dodgers came to bat.

Jake Bennett once again showed why the Red Sox are excited about his future.

Much like Payton Tolle the night before, the rookie left-hander was hit hard early but limited the damage before settling into a groove.

The Dodgers strung together four singles in the second inning to take a 3-2 lead, but Bennett responded by retiring the next nine hitters he faced. He finished with 5 2/3 innings of three-run ball, allowing six hits while striking out four.

His outing ended after 88 pitches when he walked Kyle Tucker with two outs in the sixth, prompting Chad Tracy to summon Justin Slaten for the matchup against Teoscar Hernández.

Jarren Duran finally broke through in the sixth inning.

The left fielder crushed a 420-foot solo homer off Kyle Hurt, snapping a 22-game and 81-at-bat home run drought. It was his first long ball since July 5, when he also homered in Southern California against the Angels.

Boston added two key insurance runs in the eighth without recording an extra-base hit.

A hit-by-pitch, an infield single, a sacrifice bunt, a wild pitch and a passed ball combined to stretch the lead to 8-4, allowing Tracy to avoid using his highest-leverage relievers.

Tyron Guerrero surrendered a run in the seventh before Jovani Morán, Greg Weissert and Garrett Whitlock combined to close out the final 2 1/3 innings.

The Red Sox also flashed their leather behind their pitching staff. Sogard and Andruw Monasterio made several difficult plays up the middle to steal hits from the Dodgers, while Tracy continued to pitch carefully to Shohei Ohtani, intentionally walking him twice over the final two games of the series.

The Red Sox return home Monday before opening a six-game homestand Tuesday against the White Sox and Athletics.

Boston has done its part, climbing from the fringes of the playoff race into the second Wild Card position. Now, with the trade deadline fast approaching, the focus shifts to Breslow and the front office. The players have put the Red Sox in position to contend. It’s time to reward them with reinforcements. 

Even the front office doesn’t make a move the players are focused on continuing to play the same level of baseball. 

“If somebody comes, we’ll welcome them with open arms,” Rafaela said after the game. “If not, we will keep winning baseball games with this team. That’s what we’re doing.”

It remains to be seen if Breslow does anything before the 6 p.m. trade deadline on Monday. 

 “We’ll see what happens, and if something does happen, we’ll see how we need to adjust,” Tracy said. “But we’re going to take a well-deserved flight home with an off-day and rest and get ready for the White Sox.”

The Red Sox return home after sweeping the Dodgers for a three-game series against the White Sox at Fenway Park before welcoming the Athletics later in the week.

Tuesday, Aug. 4 - 7:10 p.m. ET

White Sox: RHP Davis Martin (9-5, 3.62 ERA)

Red Sox: LHP Patrick Sandoval (0-0, 3.32 ERA)

Wednesday, Aug. 5 - 7:10 p.m. ET

White Sox: RHP Sean Burke (7-5, 3.04 ERA)

Red Sox: RHP Sonny Gray (13-2, 2.93 ERA)

Thursday, Aug. 6 - 7:10 p.m. ET

White Sox: RHP Luis Castillo (3-9, 5.06 ERA)

Red Sox: LHP Ranger Suarez (4-3, 3.15 ERA)