Riding a nine-game winning streak into the All-Star break, there were questions about whether the Boston Red Sox would be able to carry their momentum into a critical four-game set against the AL East leading Tampa Bay Rays.
The ascendant club put these concerns to rest in resounding fashion, sweeping their divisional foe and extending the streak to 13 games. In doing so, they became the first Red Sox team to win 13 straight since Ted Williams, Bobby Doerr, and Johnny Pesky did it in 1948.
With four consecutive sweeps and 18 wins in the last 20 games, Boston's historic run has them back in the playoff picture, now in control of the third Wild Card spot and just six games back in the division.
Shortly after putting the finishing touches on the win Sunday afternoon, manager Chad Tracy spoke about what he believes the difference has been over the last month to bring the unit from 14 games below .500 on June 24 to now two games above.
"There's a lot of differences," Tracy said. "Not much in the pitching, the pitching has been great. But we have found some things together offensively. We've found different ways to score runs. We're taking much better at-bats."
Tracy continued, explaining that their ability to work walks and score without hitting the ball out of the infield paired with their recent power surge has made it so that they can win games in multiple ways.
He touched on this break-through before the game too, praising the work of all his players in embracing small ball, but also tipping his cap to the "heaters" from Wilyer Abreu and Willson Contreras and the gritty contributions from Caleb Durbin and Andruw Monasterio.
The 41-year-old skipper, who is now 40-31 since taking over as interim manager of the Red Sox, also hammered home the importance of their stellar pitching, citing it as a reason why they still saw the potential for this group even when things looked bleak.
"We've said from the beginning, the way that we pitched, if it run-scoring goes up and you match it with our pitching, we can put that together. I don't know if we thought it would be 12 in a row, but it is. And hopefully it's more," Tracy said pregame.
This was on full display Sunday when right-handed veteran Sonny Gray, who admitted he didn't have his best stuff, worked himself out of countless jams to complete six strong innings of one-run ball. Gray, who was made the de facto ace when Garrett Crochet went down in April, leads the American League in wins (12-1) and holds a 2.48 ERA.
Tracy singled out Gray's tremendous attention to detail as a reason for his success and lauded the impact his veteran presence has had on the rest of the group. Boston's rotation has held firm in the absence of Crochet and Brayan Bello, with young left-handers Payton Tolle (3.11 ERA), Jake Bennett (2.35 ERA), and Connelly Early (3.44 ERA) all impressing.
For the even-keeled Tracy, the focus has always been on the next one. But Sunday's win forced the first-year manager to take a step back and recognize the history being made, stressing the importance of balancing the emotions of the moment while staying focused on what lies ahead.
"It's really cool," Tracy acknowledged. "And one game at a time."
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"I won't shy away from what we're doing, it's pretty incredible and it's a fun ride and we want to keep it going... but focus on tomorrow and get ready to play again tomorrow."
Tracy's Red Sox will open up against yet another AL East opponent on Monday when they host the Baltimore Orioles for a three-game set. The Red Sox, who have now improved their record at Fenway Park to 21-27 with the win, will look to keep the good times rolling into the weekend when the Toronto Blue Jays will come to town.
