Since facing – and sweeping – the Yankees at Fenway Park from June 25th to June 28th the Red Sox have pulled out the broom a lot. Nine times in fact, including that kickoff sweep of New York. There were also two earlier sweeps of the Tigers (best not to look back at this one) and Royals (the week of Slaten to Whitlock to Chapman) but we’re focusing on the ones that are part of the legend.
But the sweeps aren’t necessarily the most interesting part of the story. For several teams, getting swept by
the Red Sox began a longer slump. At least that’s something that seems to come up on the broadcasts. Teams fall to the Sox and then find out things are even worse. The broadcasts have gone back to that well an a few occasions. Is it filler talk during games or something with backing?
This isn’t to say the Sox are cursing teams or that there is anything beyond such baseball sayings as “momentum is the next game’s starting pitcher” but it’s a bit of a quirk considering the way the Red Sox season has gone. It almost feels like they are some type of baseball highlander as times, taking the energy of each swept foe and moving on to the next, regardless of the reality.
Let’s start with the Yankees. On the whole they were 48-31 coming off back-to-back wins in Detroit. They’d won four in a row two times in the month of June and sat atop the AL East with a 3.0 game lead over the Rays. After the sweep they would get swept by Detroit, lose two of three to the Twins, and split a four-game series with the Rays. Even after sweeping the Nationals they would find themselves 3.0 games back of first place in the AL East.
The Los Angeles Angels weren’t on such a hot streak. They were just swept by the Seattle Mariners but overall June was a 13-14 effort for LA. Considering they’re now on track to lose 100 games for the first time ever, welcoming the Red Sox while featuring a 36-52 record (.409 winning %) they were still hanging around the merely “very bad” line. Afterwards they would lose three of four to the Rangers, two of three to the Twins and Tigers, etc. They’d go 6-14 for the rest of the month after Boston left town.
The White Sox are having a magical season. A couple years of disaster and suddenly: playoffs! They were coming off a 13-12 June and started July 2-3. After the sweep from Boston, they bounced right back sweeping the Athletics and winning a series against each of the Blue Jays and Rangers. They’d lose a series to the Astros and split four games with the Yankees to close out the month.
The Mets had fired their manager in the days leading up to Boston’s visit. They were 4-5 to start July, splitting a series with Atlanta and winning one against the Royals. After the sweep from the Red Sox they’d come back after the All Star Break to go 7-7. August would be a winning month: 15-12 and September they’d start hot at 6-2. The Mets are trying to hold onto fourth place in the NL East as they look to 2027. Maybe firing your manager early (Red Sox, Phillies) really can save a season?
The Rays are, of course, very good. They’ve been holding on to first place in the AL East for months now since passing the Yankees. They were a big test for Boston and came in at 56-38, fresh off winning a series against the Mariners. They wouldn’t have much trouble shaking off the sweep. They’d finish the month 8-3 against the Jays, Guardians, Rangers, and White Sox. August would be an 18-10 affair and they’d continue holding onto the top spot in the AL East and have the best record in the entire American League!
The Red Sox wouldn’t follow up this run with a sweep the Orioles, missing out on even more history after the 15-game winning streak. But after winning a series against each of the Jays and Athletics they’d faced (and sweep) the Dodgers. The team that’s apparently killing baseball. The Dodgers are still pretty good. They entered the Boston series with an 11.0 game lead in their division and as of Wednesday 9/9 still have 11 games on the rest of the NL West. But. they’d get swept by the Cubs right after and lose two-of-three to the Diamondbacks. While meeting the Dodgers in the World Series is obviously a fantastic outcome, the Dodgers were swept in a three-game series just once (Dbacks in June) before facing the Sox and just once after. But you only need four wins in seven tries to bring ‘em on!
Boston then sweeps the White Sox again. First place in their division basically all season and losing every game of the Sox season series.
Rafael Devers and the San Fransisco Giants would come to town and get swept. Again, they entered at 52-75, there wasn’t much momentum before facing Boston. They’ve since gone 10-7. At 5-4 in September this is currently the only month San Francisco has put up more wins than losses, with the giant (pun intended) caveat that the month isn’t over yet.
Boston wasn’t quite done though. There has been one more sweep (so far?) this season: the recently-completed four-game sweep of the Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles needed this one. They needed four games. They needed to sweep in the other direction. Despite the Red Sox historic run, despite selling at the deadline, the O’s had a 15-8 July and a 15-13 August. They were closing in on the third Wild Card. They were six games behind Boston and a sweep would put them just two back. They weren’t going away. They did come into the series cold: losing two-of-three to the Rockies. But before that they’d gone 8-2 in their last 10 games. Now they sit 3.0 games back of the final Wild Card with Cleveland, Toronto, and Texas all ahead on them.
Are the Red Sox cursing teams? Probably not. But that the Yankees and Dodgers went right out and got swept after the Sox did the same to them? That’s still fun.
