Red Sox riding high after sweeping Nationals and Rockies, but schedule gets tougher the rest of July
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Now, the Sox' task is to translate that success as the schedule stiffens ahead of next week's All-Star break and the
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Beginning on Thursday, the Sox will welcome in the Rays for a four-game set before the break, with Tampa Bay currently holding a two-game edge in the division and wild-card races. Then, immediately after the break, the Sox will have three straight series against the National League's current division leaders — the Cubs (54-38), Phillies (54-39), and Dodgers (56-38).
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'There's a lot of energy right now,' Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. 'Obviously that comes with winning and with swinging the bat well, but we just got to be ready for tomorrow. You got a big series against the Rays.'
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Before the Sox' series in Washington last week, Cora cited the AL-leading Tigers' unexpected series loss to the Nationals just days prior as a cautionary example. And over the entire week-long stretch, Cora was pleased with the team's attention to detail.
'Any given night at this level, somebody will be on the mound, and they are going to be throwing 97-98 [m.p.h.], and if they execute, you'll have trouble,' Cora said earlier this week. 'And I think watching Detroit right before us in Washington, that was kind of like, 'Hey, you better show up.' '
The Sox' aggression and focus was exemplified in the first inning on Wednesday, when leadoff hitter Jarren Duran hustled all the way to third after a pair of defensive miscues by the Rockies led to the ball kicking around the outfield grass.
'Overall, the effort was great,' Cora said. 'The way this game started — I always say, when that guy [Duran] is leading off, you better be here early, because something special might happen. I haven't seen that in my career as a baseball player or manager.'
Now, the challenge for the Sox is to keep their groove against tougher teams. One source of encouragement: The Sox are 23-23 this season against teams with winning records, and before this recent run against Washington and Colorado, the Sox faced winning teams in seven of eight series and went 13-8 over that span.
Each of the Rays' scheduled starters this weekend hold ERAs under 5.00, and two are beneath 4.00. Those numbers aren't remarkable, but consider that over the past six games against Washington and Colorado, the Sox faced only one starter with a sub-5.00 ERA.
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The Sox are 4-2 against Tampa Bay this season, most recently taking two of three at Fenway Park from June 9-11.
'We're going to lock in. That's the division contender, and we're in a really good moment,' said Carlos Narvaez. 'We'll give 200 percent these next four games, and we get a little break next week. So it's going to be a fun series.'
And while the offense's hot streak has taken pressure off the starters of late, the Sox will need strong performances from their staff. Boston will start Walker Buehler on Thursday,
'The way that we're swinging the bat right now, you don't have to be perfect out there on the mound,' Giolito said. 'They're making it a lot easier on us starting pitchers.'
As for the Sox' confidence level as they turn the page to the critical Rays series, Narvaez summed it up swiftly:
'We swept the last two series, and we're looking forward to sweeping the next one, too.'
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