If only the Yankees could hit. With the Red Sox hanging loss after loss on the Tampa Bay Rays, this would have been a golden window for the Yanks to creep even closer to first place in the AL East. Alas, that is seemingly not in the cards, after the Dodgers stymied the Bronx “Bombers” in the first two games of this weekend’s set, holding the offense to three combined runs. New York only scored twice in the finale as well, but thanks to brilliant Bullpen Game effort from Ryan Yarbrough, Paul Blackburn,
Brent Headrick, and David Bednar, it held up and they avoided a sweep to move to a game and a half behind the Rays.
I guess we can take solace that the Rays are within reach. But the BoSox are now two games over .500 and closing fast. So we get to deal with that now. Their immiseration had been a bright spot in what was a disappointing first half. Not anymore, it seems.
Tampa Bay Rays (56-42) 1, Boston Red Sox (50-48) 6
The last time the Boston Red Sox won 13 straight games, Ted Williams went on to hit .369 and win the AL batting title. The club went on to win 96 games, narrowly losing the AL pennant to Cleveland in a one-game tiebreaker. It was 1948. It is now 2026 and, while Teddy Ballgame ain’t in the Beantown lineup, they’ve once again won 13 consecutive games — the second-longest streak in franchise history (behind only a W15 in 1946).
Boston fell behind early on an inside-the-park home run by Víctor Mesa Jr. in the second inning. But after the Red Sox tied the game in the home second with an RBI double by Andruw Monasterio, they seized the lead for good against Shane McClanahan in the third — all without the benefit of a hit. Check out this rally:
- Jahmai Jones walk
- Ceddanne Rafaela fly out
- Wilyer Abreu hit-by-pitch
- Willson Contreras walk
- Passed ball to score Jones
- RBI grounder by Caleb Durbin, thrown away on a Junior Caminero error
- Romy González RBI groundout to make it 4-1, Boston
That’s how you know things are going great in Beantown.
The Red Sox tacked two more runs on in the bottom of the fifth, via Contreras’ 22nd roundtripper of the season. Meanwhile, Sonny Gray and three relievers combined to shut out the Rays from the second inning onward, giving Gray his 12th win of the season.
Other Games
Chicago White Sox (52-46) 3, Toronto Blue Jays (46-53) 0: As much as I hate seeing the Red Sox thrive lately, I am enjoying the overall 2026 White Sox renaissance. On Sunday, they continued their breakout season, blanking the Jays in Toronto. Sean Burke was the story for the ChiSox, spinning 6.2 frames of shutout ball, outdueling Toronto phenom Trey Yesavage. A sacrifice fly from former Yankee Andrew Benintendi was all the offense Chicago actually needed, but they added two more later in the game to move to six games over .500, one ahead of Cleveland in the AL Central. What a turnaround — and what a disappointing season to date from the defending AL champs, mired in last place with a record better than only three Junior Circuit teams: the A’s, Royals, and Angels.
Texas Rangers (50-49) 5, Atlanta Braves (57-41) 8: Texas pitching had no answers for Drake Baldwin and Austin Riley on Sunday. The former, who’d struggled at the plate since returning from injury, racked up five hits, scored three runs, and knocked in two more. The latter, who’d struggled at the plate basically all season, clubbed two home runs, driving in four runners total. Old friend Nathan Eovaldi was on the wrong end of the beatdown, lasting only four innings while allowing four runs.
Seattle Mariners (50-50) 6, San Francisco Giants (42-57) 3: The two West Coast clubs traded runs in the early and middle innings Sunday. Ultimately, it was the long ball that propelled Seattle to the win and moved them back to .500 on the season. First, Luke Raley hit what proved to be the game-winning home run in the bottom of the sixth, a solo shot that moved the M’s up 4-3. Then, in the seventh, Cole Young followed suit with a two-run blast of his own, opening up a three-run lead that Seattle never surrendered. Meanwhile, Logan Gilbert had the strikeout pitch working Sunday as he punched out 10 Giants batsmen. The win moved .500 Seattle to within a half-game of the AL West lead behind Texas. (In case you’re wondering, the Astros were swept by the Oriolesc, moving them four back of the Rangers.)
Cleveland Guardians (52-48) 1, Pittsburgh Pirates (52-48) 7: Paul Skenes has looked disturbingly normal for much of 2026, much to almost everyone’s chagrin. When he is on, he is fun to watch. On Sunday, he was on. Pitching for the first time in a week, the defending NL Cy Young Award winner threw seven innings of one-run ball, striking out eight Guardians. At the plate, a three-run sixth inning provided the Pirates insurance behind their ace.
