The Boston Red Sox have won 13 consecutive games, matching a franchise record last touched in 1948, and they’ve done it with pitching so dominant it drags Babe Ruth’s name into the conversation for reasons that have nothing to do with curses.
Over the first 11 wins of the streak, Boston allowed just 17 runs — the fewest in any 11-game stretch in a single season since Ruth was part of the rotation in 1918, according to Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. Steve Buckley of The Athletic noted that you have to go back to 1948 to find the last 13-game win streak in franchise history, a year that did not end well for the club.
They’ve assembled this run without Roman Anthony, widely regarded as the most talented hitter in the organization. Anthony was sent to Fort Myers to continue rehabbing a hand injury and remains unable to swing a bat. Chad Tracy, the team’s assistant hitting coach, told the Globe: “We’re not going to resume hitting if there’s still discomfort in the hand. That’s a big piece of our lineup. It would be great to get him back. The whole point is we don’t want our player, that player, to play injured, especially when it comes to swinging the bat.”
The lineup has compensated with contributions from Wilyer Abreu, Willson Contreras, and Caleb Durbin. Contreras, in particular, has embraced the role of emotional engine. “I don’t want them to start saying, like shouting, ‘Sell the team!’ I don’t like that,” Contreras told Boston.com’s Trevor Hass. “I take that personally, but they’re passionate about it. But I’m really proud of the team, of my team. Really proud of the work we’ve done. Really proud because of the way we started, how we are right now. And I know there’s a lot of games ahead, but they make me proud.”
What makes the situation unusual is the front office’s posture. Despite the hottest stretch of baseball the franchise has seen in 77 years, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and the Red Sox have not committed to buying ahead of the Aug. 3 trade deadline.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that Boston’s plans remain fluid: “For now, their plans are fluid. Boston isn’t discounting pursuing help before Aug. 3. The Red Sox also know that, for an entire half of the season, they personified mediocrity and that 15 games does not a season make. So, like many others, they’re weighing their options, knowing that if they stumble, they can pivot into dump mode and make a killing.”
The logic is cold but defensible. The Red Sox spent the first three months of the season buried in the standings, and a two-week surge — even one with Ruthian pitching numbers — doesn’t erase the hole that preceded it. Breslow’s camp knows that a handful of bad losses between now and deadline day could flip the calculus from contender to seller, and the trade assets on a roster this deep would fetch a significant return.
For now, the streak holds. The pitching staff has allowed fewer runs over an 11-game span than any Red Sox team in 107 years. Anthony’s return timeline remains uncertain. And the front office is keeping both the checkbook and the “for sale” sign within reach.
