Major League Baseball instituted a 15 second (20 seconds with a man on base) pitch clock for the new season. A hitter must also be in the batter’s box with eight seconds remaining. Two infielders were now required to be on the infield dirt on each side of second base. And they increased the size of the bases from 15 inches square to 18 inches square.

The Red Sox continued their policy of signing older players or those coming off serious injuries. This idea was risky, in that older players are more susceptible to injuries rather than players in their prime.

The Sox offered Nathan Eovaldi three year deal worth more than $51M guaranteed in early December, but he decided to take the offer from the Texas Rangers.

In November, the Red Sox signed free agent reliever Joely Rodriguez. In December, free agent reliever Chris Martin, closer Kenley Jansen, Japanese star outfielder Masataka Yoshida were signed for five years at $90M. Veteran free agent infielder, Justin Turner, pitcher Corey Kluber, outfielder Adam Duvall and outfielder Raimel Tapia were next added. In January, they traded Matt Barnes to the Marlins for pitcher, Richard Bleier.

After the new year started, the Red Sox inked Rafael Devers to the largest contract in club history. On January 4th, Devers signed an 11-year, $331 million dollar extension. It was the third largest contract ever given to a third baseman in MLB history.

Japan beat the U.S. in the World Baseball Classic. One of Japan’s brightest stars was Masataka Yoshida, the Red Sox new outfielder. He batted .409 with two home runs and a tournament-record 13 RBIs. He struck out only once in the seven games.

The Red Sox started the year by taking 2-of-3 from the Baltimore Orioles. In the season opener on March 30th, the Sox pitching was atrocious, but the O's almost gave the game back in a 10-9 loss. The second game on April 1st was an exciting battle that came down to a dropped easy routine fly ball by Orioles left fielder, Ryan McKenna. It gave the Sox a runner and a life. Adam Duvall proceeded to cash it in by pasting a walk-off homer and giving the Red Sox a 9-8 victory.

ADAM DUVALL

The finale on April 2nd was all Sox. The offense took over and pasted Baltimore 9 to 5. Scoring nine runs in each of the three games was historic, putting this team in the same company as the '76 Big Red Machine and the '78 Brewers. Duvall was 8-for-14 in the series with three doubles, a triple, two homers good for eight RBIs, and was named AL "Player of the Week".

Adam Duvall hit a tiebreaking, three-run homer in the sixth inning and the Red Sox went on to beat the Detroit Tigers, 6-3, at Comerica Park on April 6th. Duvall became the first player in Red Sox history to drive in 12 runs in his first six games with the Sox. Rafael Devers also collected two hits including a homer. Chris Sale after throwing eight straight "balls" to the first two batters, got his first win since Sept 22, 2021.

The Sox then belted the Tigers 14-5 on April 8th. Duvall (.483 BA) became the only player with at least eight extra-base hits and 14 RBIs in his first seven games with a new team. He went 3 for 5 with a homer and two doubles. Not to be outdone, Devers went 2 for 4 and had two home runs, one being an opposite field grand slam.

The Tigers were swept when Triston Casas doubled and homered on April 9th. Kutter Crawford allowed one run on five hits in five innings, for a 4 to 1 decision. But the Sox lost their most productive player thus far. Adam Duvall, who was out at the end of last year with a wrist injury, fractured the same wrist while trying to make a diving catch of a line drive.

The Sox next moved down to Tampa Bay to face the Rays who started the season undefeated. When the Series was completed the Rays (13-0) remained undefeated because they took four straight from the Red Sox. And so on, the Sox were already in last place, eight games behind on April 14th. Outside of Alex Verdugo and Rafael Devers, the Sox performance was weak. Kike Hernandez (.114 BA) snapped a 0-for-28 streak and went back to center field to replace Adam Duvall. Secondbaseman Christian Arroyo (.189 BA), firstbaseman Triston Casas (.132), catcher Connor Wong (.120 BA), pitchers Chris Sale (11.25 ERA) and Corey Kluber (6.92 ERA) all failed to perform well.

Shortstop Yu Chang rallied the Red Sox to come from behind and beat the Angels at Fenway on April 15th, 9 to 7, after going hitless in his first 16 plate appearances. While trailing in the fourth inning, he launched a two-run homer to give the Sox a 5-4 lead. Then in the eighth, with the Sox down a run and two men on, Chang singled home what would be the winning runs.

The next day, Garrett Whitlock held the Angels to three hits, in a dominating 2-1 win on April 16th. Kutter Crawford pitched 6 1/3 innings of one-hit ball the next day in relief, the first Sox pitcher to do so since 2002. But after again digging themselves into an early hole, the Sox couldn't climb back to beat the Angels in the series finale, losing 5 to 4. Through 17 games, Red Sox starting pitchers had given up 23 runs in the first inning alone.

Chris Sale pitched six brilliant three-hit innings on April 18th against the Twins, with 11 strikeouts. The Red Sox squandered numerous scoring opportunities in those innings, leaving seven men on base. The game was won in the tenth inning on Alex Verdugo's (3-for-5) line drive off the right field wall, which gave the Sox a 5 to 4 victory.

Tanner Houck (3-0) made another strong seven inning start on April 20th, giving the Sox an 11-5 win over the Twins and taking two of their three game set. Alex Verdugo and Yu Chang homered, while Jarren Duran had two hits and belted a two-run double (his fourth double in four games).

Verdugo homered again in Milwaukee the next night, on April 21st. Reliever Josh Winckowski (1.65 ERA) relieved Nick Pivetta to help the Sox beat the Brewers, 5 to 3. Pinch-hitter Rob Refsnyder delivered a clutch single in the sixth and in the process lifted the Sox pinch-hit average to an MLB-best .429 through 21 games.

Rafael Devers hit a home run in Milwaukee on April 22nd. He became only the third Sox player to have eight homers and 20 RBIs in the team's first 22 games since the turn of this century.

Losing a 3-0 lead, the Sox battled back with a nine-run eighth inning on April 23rd. Masataka Yoshida was the big noise with two home runs in the inning, one a grand slam, good for six RBIs thus becoming the fifth player in Sox history to hit two homers in a single inning. The Sox took two of three from the Brewers, winning this one 12 to 5.

Jarren Duran and Corey Kluber led the Sox to an 8 to 6 win in Baltimore on April 25th. Duran (.387 BA) was 3-for-4 with a double and a grandslam homer. Kluber won his first game in a Sox uniform, going six innings, allowing five hits and a run.

ALEX VERDUGO

The Sox concluded their brief road trip splitting even with a .500 record. Masataka Yoshida ended with a seven-game hitting streak going 13 for 28 (.464 BA) with three homers and 10 RBIs. Jarren Duran went 9 for 22 (.409 BA) on the trip. But pitching left a lot to be desired. The starters had a 7.90 ERA and the relievers had a 5.11 ERA.

In a game in which the Sox bullpen relinquished a five-run lead in the 7th, Alex Verdugo once again delivered the game-winning hit to send the Red Sox to an 8-7 win over the Guardians in 10 innings on April 29th. Christian Arroyo went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBIs, and Connor Wong set a career-high with three hits.

The Sox (15-13) took two of the three games they played with the Guardians, beating them handily by a score of 7 to 1 on April 30th. Chris Sale was dominating, allowing just three hits and no free passes in 6 1/3 innings. Verdugo (.308 BA) concluded a great month with two hits, including a home run.

On May 1st, Verdugo did it again. For the third time this season, he came up with a game-winning walk-off hit. This time it was a homer in the bottom of the ninth, that propelled the Sox to a 6 to 5 win over Toronto at Fenway. Of the Sox' 16 victories, 11 have had them come-from-behind. Enmanuel Valdez hit his first major league homer after Jarren Duran smacked a homer that tied the game in the sixth inning.

Connor Wong (4-for-4) was the star the next night. He blasted a missile at the Green Monster in his first at bat that hit the wall a foot from the top. In every other ballpark, it would have been a homer, but at Fenway, it was a wall-ball double. He singled his second time up and then he scorched one over the wall in the sixth inning, to tie the game. Two innings later he hit another homer that was the game-winner, making the score 7 to 6, over the Blue Jays on May 2nd.

In the third game on May 3rd, Triston Casas (.128 BA) broke out of a slump, going 3-for-5 with some clutch hitting that resulted in an 8-3 Sox win over Toronto. Masataka Yoshida went 2-for-5 to raise his batting average to .303 (22-for51) after hitting just .167 two weeks ago. The Sox had an MLB leading 12 players with at least 8 RBIs.

The Sox completed their homestand with a sweep of the Blue Jays on May 4th, by a score of 11 to 5. Devers (4 RBIs) and Masa (3 RBIs) each homered. Justin Turner knocked out three hits, while Duran (.417 BA) had three hits and two stolen bases. Yoshida completed the homestand batting .429 over the past week. The Sox led the league in hits (313) and were second in batting average (.274) through 33 games.

In Philly on May 5th, Chris Sale struck out 10 batters in six innings, as the Sox beat the Phillies, 5 to 3. Masa extended his hitting streak to 15 games.

The next night in Philadelphia, on May 6th, the Sox batters once again jumped on the starting pitcher and won, 7 to 4. The Sox got 10 hits, including four doubles. Devers went 3 for 5 with two RBIs to lead MLB with 34, and lead the AL with 11 HRs.

Masataka Yoshida was named "Player of the Week" for the week ending May 6th, hitting (12-for-25) .485 with two doubles, two homers, and driving in eight runs. He did not strike out and fanned only 11 times in 129 plate appearances thus far, this season.

Kenley Jansen recorded his 400th career save against the Atlanta Braves on May 10th, becoming the seventh player in MLB history to do so. The Sox won the game 5 to 2 when Raimel Tapia came off the bench and laced a tie-breaking double into right field.

The next night, however, Jansen blew a chance for a save by melting down in the ninth inning on May 11th. After James Paxton, making his first start in over two years, threw a gem. He struck out nine batters in five innings, giving up two runs. Jansen had nothing in the ninth and gave up three runs without recording an out, losing to the Cardinals, 8 to 6.

That was followed the next day by Chris Sale pitching his heart out for eight innings and leaving with a 3 to 1 lead, striking out nine, on May 12th. Enter Jansen again and he blew yet another save, the Sox losing their second straight game in the ninth, 4 to 3.

After losing four straight and sitting in last place, nine games out, the Sox finally got back into the win column on May 16th, against the Mariners. Casas, Duran and Turner homered, while Masa doubled and tripled, to lead the Sox in a 9-4 win.

The Sox closed out the homestand with a 12-3 win over Seattle on May 17th. They pounded the Mariners pitching for nine runs in the first two innings. Turner was 3-for-4 with a homer and Pablo Reyes had two hits good for four RBIs.

In San Diego, on May 20th, Rafael Devers drove in four runs with two homers and James Paxton held the Padres to one run over six innings as the Red Sox scored a 6 to 1 win. The next game belonged to Chris Sale who looked like the vintage version of himself once again, beating the Padres, 4 to 2 on May 21st. He threw 111 pitches over seven innings, giving up three hits and striking out eight. Enmanuel Valdez supplied all the offense needed with a three-run homer on May 22nd.

The Red Sox bats next went into a deep freeze. The team that had one of the more potent offenses in the majors stopped hitting on the west coast. They lost four straight games, having scored just four runs in their last 44 innings.

Behind Chris Sale, the Red Sox bats came back alive as they coasted to a 7-2 win in Arizona on May 26th. Triston Casas (.181 BA) broke out of a slump with three hits. So did the recently slumping Alex Verdugo, who also had three of the Sox' 14 hits. Seven of the nine Red Sox batters recorded a hit, with five players having multi-hit games.

Garrett Whitlock came off the DL and pitched the Sox to a 2-1 win over the Diamondbacks on May 27th. After giving up a base hit in the first inning, he retired 12 straight batters. The west coast road trip resulted in four wins in the nine games.

The Red Sox finished the month of May having gone 7-13 and were in last place, 10 1/2 games out of first place in the A.L. East. Masataka Yoshida was the top Sox batter and second in the American League in batting with a .312 BA, 7 HRs and 31 RBIs.

The Sox started the month with a win over the Cincinnati Reds on June 1st, but in the process, they lost Chris Sale once again. Sale left with an injury after allowing three runs or fewer in all but one of his seven starts. The Sox beat the Reds, 8 to 2, on home runs by Kike Hernandez and Connor Wong.

Led by Justin Turner's bases-loaded double, the Sox overcame a four-run deficit to beat the Tampa Bay Rays, in the first game of a June 3rd doubleheader, 8 to 5. Shortstop Kike Hernandez committed two more throwing errors to give him a league-high 13, with 11 coming on his throws. Kenley Jansen recorded his 12th save in the first game but pitching in the ninth inning of the second game, gave up two runs to lose the game, 4 to 2.

The Sox' defensive struggles were never more apparent than in their loss to the Rays, 6 to 2 on June 4th. They threw the ball away and allowed a hitter to score on a single, looking like a bunch of Little Leaguers. The Sox were tied for second for the most errors in all of MLB with 39 and second to last in Fielding Percentage (98.1%)

Against the first-place Rays, the Red Sox bats were silent again, losing three of four. From April 8th through May 14th, they averaged 5 1/2 runs per game. Since May 15th they had scored an average of a little over two runs per game as their record fell to 30-30.

In Cleveland on June 6th, the Sox came from behind but had to hold on to beat the Guardians, 5 to 4. Masa (.319 BA) led the offense going 3-for-5 and James Paxton pitched seven solid innings, giving up just two runs and striking out nine. But against the Guardians, the Sox lost 2-of-3, falling under .500 and falling deeper into the A.L. East basement by 13 games.

Into New York went the Sox on June 9th and Garrett Whitlock pitched a solid game, beating the Yankees, 3 to 2. The Sox had ten hits with solo homers from Rafael Devers and Kike Hernandez.

The Sox lost the second game, 3-1 on June 10th, but Tanner Houck pitched well giving up two runs on three hits and striking out six.

Then, after a freak play where a routine ground ball ricocheted off the second base bag, to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead, the Sox rallied to beat them in 10 innings, 3 to 2 to win the rubber game of the series on June 11th. Brayan Bello pitched a wonderful game, giving up just three hits over seven innings.

It was the starting pitching that held up the Sox because they only scored one run with runners in scoring position, during the the first 27 innings of the three-game series and had scored just 11 runs in their last 80 chances. The three young pitchers combined to allow just five runs in 19 1/3 innings for a 2.33 ERA.

Back home against the Rockies the first game of the series on June 12th, was typical of the problems the Sox showed. The Sox loaded the bases in the first inning, with nobody out, and couldn't score. James Paxton was strong, allowing just four hits over six innings and one unearned run. That came on Kike Hernandez's throwing error, his 14th of the year. Then in extra innings, a grounder to Triston Casas at first was muffed and two runs scored. They lost the game 4 to 3 in 10 innings. Casas has recorded three errors and graded at minus-6 defensive runs saved and minus-4 outs above average.

The Sox lost the next game in extra innings also, but then they came alive in the series finale on June 14th. Alex Verdugo led the charge with three hits, two RBIs, and a runner thrown out at home. Garrett Whitlock pitched another strong game, going seven innings and allowing two runs on six hits, with one walk and seven strikeouts, to win 6 to 3.

JUSTIN TURNER

Led by Justin Turner the Sox opened up their offense against the Yankees at Fenway on June 16th. Turner blasted two homers, including a grand slam, along with a double, good for six RBIs, as the Sox blew out the Yanks, 15-5. Masataka Yoshida collected four hits with two doubles in the Sox hitting marathon. Tanner Houck was moving along pitching a fine game until he took a line drive in the face in the fifth inning that broke his cheekbone.

The Red Sox swept the three games with the Yankees by taking both ends of a June 18th doubleheader, 6 to 2 and 4 to 1. Alex Verdugo banged out two doubles in the opener and had two singles in the second game. But pitcher Brayan Bello gave the star performance in the late game for the second Sunday in a row. He threw solid seven innings, giving up four hits and striking out eight. Over his last nine starts, he has a 2.60 ERA.

Jarren Duran lined three doubles, Alex Verdugo had a bases-loaded triple and Triston Casas slugged a long homer in support of another fine game on the mound by James Paxton. When the dust settled the scoreboard in Minnesota displayed a 9 to 3 Red Sox win, on June 19th.

The Sox continued to pound the ball in the second game against the Twins, the next night, June 20th. Christian Arroyo put together five hits including a double and a homer. Masataka Yoshida went 3 for 5 for a home run and Adam Duvall hit his first home run since coming off the DL. The final was a 10-4 walk-away Red Sox win, their sixth straight.

BRYAN BELLO

Rafael Devers blasted a two-run homer and the Red Sox capitalized on the White Sox' sloppy defense to grind out a 3 to 1 win on June 23rd in Chicago. Brayan Bello pitched out of jams for 6 2/3 innings to gain the victory. He hadn't allowed more than three earned runs in his last 11 starts. Reliever Chris Martin (1.90 ERA) was stellar again in his 24th appearance.

Masataka Yoshida had proven to be an All-Star caliber hitter. Since April 20th, he'd hit .332 with a .910 OPS. Alex Verdugo was having a career year. Justin Turner had been terrific, particularly in June, where he posted a .924 OPS, and Jarren Duran was also having a breakout season.

However, the Sox finished the road trip, having won only three games of the seven, losing 2-of-3 against the White Sox. They scored 19 runs in the first two games of the trip in Minnesota and on the final five scored only 12 times. In Chicago, they were 3-for-18 with runners in scoring position. As rough as things looked, the Red Sox sat 13 games out in last place in the A.L. East.

At Fenway, the Sox were blown out by the Miami Marlins on June 27th, 10-1. As per usual, this team didn’t capitalize off of their scoring chances either. And that’s when they got guys into scoring position ... which was only six times all game. In this game, they made four errors. Two walks, a wild pitch, and an infield single broke a tie ball game for the Marlins, who went on to beat the Sox, 6 to 2 on June 28th.

At the halfway point of the season, the Sox were 40-41 and 14 games back. They weren't good; they weren't bad; they were an inconsistent .500 ball club. They had decent pitching, sporadic hitting, leaving too many men on base in scoring position, and a terrible defense. The Sox had committed the second-most errors in MLB with 53. Kike Hernandez led the team with 14 miscues, and Rafael Devers had eight.

The Sox wasted a superb effort by Brayan Bello on June 29th. Bello carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning only to get no run support, as the Sox were swept by the Marlins, 2-0. Over their last seven games, the Sox scored only eleven runs.

Behind James Paxton, the Sox pitching staff recorded their first shutout of the season in Toronto, beating the Blue Jays, 5 to 0 on June 30th. Paxton gave up three hits in 7 2/3 innings, with seven strikeouts. The offense came alive for him, led by Masataka Yoshida's three hits, which included a home run. Paxton was named the MLB "Pitcher of the Month" for June.

Alex Verdugo threw about Bo Bichette at home, with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, to save a 7 to 6 victory over the Jays on July 1st. Rafael Devers (3-for-5) blasted his 20th homer and knocked out a double for three RBIs.

Jarren Duran (.305 BA) went 5-for-5, tying a club record with four consecutive doubles. But it was Alex Verdugo who made the difference once again, when he belted an eighth-inning homer that broke up a tie game, giving the Sox a sweep in Toronto, 5 to 4, on July 2nd.

JARREN DURAN

At Fenway on July 4th, Duran recorded his 7th straight hit, but the Sox lost to the Rangers at Fenway. Brayan Bello tossed another impressive game on July 5th, handcuffing the Texas Rangers, 4 to 2. In his last 11 starts, since the beginning of June, he had a 2.21 ERA, while holding opposing batters to a .195 BA. Justin Turner drove in two of the runs with timely hits.

In the series finale, the Sox came from behind to beat the Rangers, 10-6 on July 6th. The Sox dinged and dunked for six runs in the seventh inning to re-grab the lead. Masa (.312 BA), Turner, and Devers each had two hits in the game.

Nick Pivetta was superb out of the bullpen, striking out eight over five innings in a 7-3 victory over the Oakland A's on July 7th. Jarren Duran easily legged out a triple as one of his two hits.

Duran (.320 BA) continued weilding his hot bat in the next game vs the A's on July 8th. He went 3-for-5 with a homer, a double, and three RBIs. Since June 11th, he had batted .420 over 69 at-bats and was tied for third in MLB with 27 doubles. The Sox won 10-3 and had recorded at least 10 hits in their last seven games.

The Sox (48-43) concluded the series by sweeping the A's, coming from behind and taking the finale, 4 to 3 on July 9th. Down 3-1, Masa (.316 BA) hit his 10th homer in the eighth inning to give the Sox the go-ahead run. The Sox had won eight of their last nine games and going into the All-Star Break, they were nine games behind.

Kenley Jansen was picked to represent the Sox on the A.L. All-Star squad. He faced one batter in the game and struck him out, as the National League defeated the American League, 3 to 2 in Seattle.

The Red Sox clouted six home runs at Wrigley Field to beat the Cubs, 8 to 3, when the season was restarted on July 14th. Rafael Devers hit two (21 & 22) in his first two times up. The Sox took 2-of-3 from the Cubs. Led by Masataka Yoshida, who belted a single, a triple, and a grand slam (his second of the season), the Sox won 11 to 5 on July 16th. Kutter Crawford pitched six scoreless innings to get the win.

In Oakland, Nick Pivetta displayed historic excellence, shutting out the A's, 7-0 on July 17th. Pivetta came out of the bullpen in the second inning, pitched six no-hit innings and chalked up 13 strikeouts. That was a franchise record for K's by a reliever in a game. Also, it was the most strikeouts, without allowing a hit, by any reliever in MLB history. Masa's two doubles was all the offense the Sox got in the second game on July 18th, a 3-0 loss.

Triston Casas blasted two home runs off Max Scherzer and three others knocked out four-baggers as the Sox defeated the Mets on July 22nd by a score of 8 to 6. Casas had a double and a triple in the previous game, one the Sox lost in the afternoon, as a continuation of the game that got halted by the rain on Friday night.

The Red Sox took the finale, 6 to 1 on July 23rd on seven straight hits in the third inning. Rafael Devers went 2-for-3 with a home run and rookie pitcher Chris Murphy earned his first major league win.

NICK PIVETTA

On July 25th, the Red Sox hit into a rare 8-3-5 triple play vs. the Atlanta Braves, but still beat the best team in baseball thus far, 7 to 1. Nick Pivetta was again the story in this bullpen game. He pitched five innings in relief, giving up three hits and a run, while striking out five. He had posted a 1.98 ERA in 17 relief outings. Masataka Yoshida was 3-for-4 with a home run, leading the AL with a .320 BA.

The Red Sox pulled one out against the Braves on July 26th. Brayan Bello was engaged in a pitching duel with the MLB strikeout leader, Spencer Strider for five innings until Ozzie Albes knocked a three-run homer into the bullpen. But Rafael Devers homered, then Triston Casas homered before Justin Turner banged a two-run double off the wall, and the Sox won 5-to-3.

The Sox were 15-5 since June 30th, the best record in baseball. They had the best batting average, OPS, and second-best runs per game in the entire month of July.

Out in San Francisco on July 28th, Casas doubled and homered to lead the Sox to a 3-2 decision over the Giants.

Justin Turner came up clutch on July 29th driving in two runs to tie up the game, but the Sox lost a 3-2 walk-off. He again delivered a two-run homer to put the Sox out front in the next game on July 30th, but the Sox lost to the Giants in 11 innings suffering another walk-off, 4 to 3. Since the All-Star break, Turner had been up with the Sox tied or trailing, eight times, and with runners in scoring position. He had driven in a run every time.

Nick Pivetta got a start in Seattle on July 31st. Lack of offensive support resulted in a 6 to 2 loss, but Pivetta struck out 10 batters in 7 1/3 innings, bringing his total for the month to 43. It was the most ever by a relief pitcher who made one start or less. Dick Radatz struck out 45 batters for the Sox in May of 1964.

The Sox batters only produced an average of two runs per game, over their last seven. They finished the month of July nine games out in the A.L. East and 2 1/2 games out of the wild card. Triston Casas, who batted .349 in July, was named the American League's "Player of the Month"

Alex Verdugo homered and Reese McGuire returned from the DL to also homer, as the Sox beat the Mariners, 6 to 4 on August 1st. The Sox next blew a 3-0 lead and lost to the Mariners in the August 2nd finale, due to sloppy defense, poor bullpen pitching, and the inability to consistently hit. The Sox returned home, having lost four of the six games they played on the west coast.

In one of the biggest series of the season thus far, the Red Sox crashed and burned. Against the Blue Jays on August 4th, Jarren Duran went 3-for-4 with a homer, in a 7 to 3 loss at Fenway. The Sox were rallying in the bottom of the ninth of the next game on August 5th. With Reese McGuire, the tying run on second with one out, Connor Wong lifted a fly ball to left and McGuire started to celebrate on his way to third, thinking the ball was a home run. But it wasn't and was caught. McGuire therefore got easily doubled up to end the game. In the series finale, on August 6th, the Jays blew out the Sox 13-1. The Sox dropped back into last place, 12 1/2 games behind.

The Kansas City Royals were the next team to come and play at Fenway on August 7th. The game went into the ninth inning tied at two each, when the Sox loaded the bases and Pablo Reyes walked it off with a grand slam homer, 6 to 2.

Two nights later on August 9th, the Sox beat the Royals, 4 to 3, on the strength of Triston Casas' mammoth homer and Nick Pivetta's eight strikeouts over five innings. The next game on April 10th, saw James Paxton and four relievers shut out the Royals, 2 to 0.

Chris Sale returned from the DL and pitched no-hit ball into the fifth inning of a 5-2 Sox win over the Tigers on August 11th. He was backed up by another Casas homer, as well as two hits apiece from Pablo Reyes and Trevor Story, playing in his third game since also coming off the DL. Story accentuated his return to the lineup on August 13th, by going 4-for-4 against old friend Eduardo Rodriguez, beating the Tigers 6-3 in the series finale.

In Washington, the Sox beat the Nationals, 5 to 4 on August 15th. With a one-run lead, the bullpen led by Chris Martin, who had allowed just one run in his last 22 2/3 innings, shut down the Nats on one hit for 4 2/3 innings. The offense struggled again in the next game on August 16th, a 6-2 loss. The only bright spot was Pablo Reyes' two-run homer. In the final game of the series on August 17th, Chris Sale failed to keep the Nats in check, losing 10-7. Newcomer Luis Urias belted a grand slam on the first pitch he saw, in a comeback attempt that fell short.

In New York, Brayan Bello pitched a dominating six innings, giving up one run on six hits on August 18th. The Sox opened up by scoring seven runs in the first two innings, accented by Masataka Yoshida's three-run homer, and finishing with an 8-3 win.

Kutter Crawford one-hit the Yankees for an 8-1 victory and the red-hot Pablo Reyes (.322 BA) went 3-for-4 on August 19th. Luis Urias' hit the first pitch from Yankee ace, Garrett Cole for a grandslam homer. That made not only two consecutive grand slams in consecutive at-bats but also on two consecutive pitches !!!!! Urias joined Bill Mueller as the only players in franchise history to hit slams in back-to-back at-bats. Mueller did it in back-to-back innings on July 29, 2003 against the Rangers.

The Sox swept the three-game series from the Yankees on August 20th. Justin Turner broke up a tie ball game twice. Once he did it with a three-run homer in the seventh inning and came through again with a clutch double in the ninth, that gave the Sox a 6-5 victory.

Looking to gain momentum out of the Bronx, the Sox fell flat on their face in Houston, losing their next two games. Their old bugaboo came into play again, making three costly errors in both games and leaving too many men on base. In each game, they made three errors and were 4 for 28 with men in scoring position. The Sox had committed 90 errors thus far, the worst in MLB.

WILYER ABREU

Wilyer Abreu made his major league debut on August 22nd and went 2-for-3 with a double. He replaced Jarren Duran who was out for the rest of the season, needing surgery on his foot.

Adam Duvall's 10th inning, three-run homer on August 23rd gave the Sox a 7 to 5 win over the Astros in the third game. The bullpen came up big, as the Sox came from behind after being down 3-0.

The next day on August 24th, the Red Sox completed a rollercoaster journey in Houston by walloping the Astros, 17-1 on 24 hits. The Sox had homered (21 HRs) in each of their past 13 games. Wilyer Abreu (4-for-5) recorded his first major league homer and Duvall went 9-for-16 in the series.

Mookie Betts and the Dodgers visited the Red Sox for a weekend series at Fenway on August 25th. Kutter Crawford silenced the Dodgers for five innings before they rallied back to win.

The second game on August 26th was one of the most exciting of the season. Alex Verdugo led off the game with a home run and it was the third consecutive game he had done so, being the first Red Sox player to ever do it. But Adam Duvall's three-run homer put the Sox out front in the sixth inning, and the Sox held on to win, 8 to 5.

The weekend was all about Mookie, who went 7-for-15 with a home run, two doubles, and four RBIs. He batted .615 and was named NL "Player of the Week" while Duvall batted .483 for the Sox with five home runs and was named AL "Player of the Week". The Dodgers took two of the three games and the Sox fell back to 4 1/2 games out for the third wild card spot.

The Astros next came to Fenway and beat down the Red Sox, 13-5 on August 28th. Facing a team ahead of them in the standings and running out of time to make up ground in the wild-card chase, the Red Sox held a one-run lead with 12 outs to go. What happened next was six runs in the sixth, and two more in both the seventh and eighth, all against the same relief pitcher, Kyle Barraclough.

The Red Sox were swept by the Astros in three games and won only one of the six games they needed to stay competitive in the postseason race. It looked suspiciously like “quiet quitting” on the part of the Sox. The Sox were 13-15 for the month and the starting rotation posted a 4.56 ERA in just 4 2/3 innings per start. They allowed opponents a .271 BA against them (fifth worst) and .821 OPS (fourth worst). They fell to 6 1/2 games out of a wild card berth as the month ended.

Alex Verdugo was a home run shy of hitting for the cycle when the Red Sox beat the Royals in Kansas City, 9 to 4, on September 2nd. Triston Casas hit his 23rd homer. Chris Sale pitched a wonderful game, aided by homers from Masataka Yoshida and Adam Duvall, to beat the Royals, 7-3, on September 3rd.

TRISTON CASAS

Casas again put the Red Sox on his shoulders on September 4th in Tampa. Down 3-1, he slugged a three-run homer to put the Sox ahead and later added another RBI base hit to bring in some insurance in another 7-3 victory over the Rays. Since the All-Star break has hit .340 with 14 homers and 32 RBIs.

The Red Sox logged 23 hits but lost the game. It was the most hits ever logged in franchise history, in a game they lost. They left 14 men on base and used 12 pitchers to lose the game, 13-12 to the Baltimore Orioles, on September 9th at Fenway. Wilyer Abreu went 5-for-5 and became the first player in the majors to record two multiple four-hit games in a season, since 2015. Rafael Devers had four hits while Masa and Trevor Story each had three.

The Sox won the series finale with the Orioles on September 10th. Brayan Bello pitched another fine game against the powerful Orioles offense and lasted five innings, which most of the Red Sox starters were not able to do throughout the season. Triston Casas turned a 4-3 game into a 7-3 game, with his 24th home run in the sixth inning.

Before the game on September 14th, GM Chaim Bloom was let go. Although he helped build a strong farm system, he was silent at the trade deadline and didn't do anything to make the Red Sox a team looking to play in the postseason this year. His legacy will always be as the man who traded away Mookie Betts.

Tanner Houck pitched six shutout innings in the game, winning 5-0, and rookie Ceddanne Rafaela hit his first two major league home runs in a series with the Yankees at Fenway. But the Sox lost 3 of 4 to New York and fell into a last-place tie with them. On the homestand, the Sox were only able to win just two of the seven games.

Chris Sale had his best outing of the season on September 16th, up in Toronto. Over six-plus innings he held the Blue Jays to two hits and one run, striking out 10 batters. The Sox ended up losing 4 to 3 in 13 innings, because of another sloppy defensive play that should have ended the game.

On September 16th, Bobby Dalbec was called up from the Woo Sox to fill in for Triston Casas, who went on the DL with a bursitis in his shoulder. Dalbec had hit 33 home runs to tie for the lead in the International League.

Down to his last pitch with two outs in the ninth inning, and down by a run on September 17th, Rafael Devers blasted his 33rd homer to left and tied up the game with the Jays. Not to be denied however, the Blue Jays walked it off in the bottom of the ninth, 3 to 2. The Sox were swept by the Jays but got good starting pitching jobs from Brayan Bello, Chris Sale, and Nick Pivetta. However, they were 3 for 24 with runners in scoring position.

In Texas, the Sox rallied from behind to beat the Rangers 4 to 2 on September 18th. Rob Refsnyder drove in the tying and go-ahead runs with a bases-loaded drive to left center. The road trip produced only this one win in six games and as a result, the Red Sox were eliminated from any postseason play.

Chris Sale was sharp against the White Sox at Fenway on September 23rd. He held Chicago to just three hits over five scoreless innings and struck out seven. In his last start, Sale struck out ten batters. The Red Sox had to rally back to win 3 to 2. Chris Martin (1.05 ERA) pitched the ninth for his 20th consecutive scoreless outing. Trevor Story (.194 BA) went 3 for 4 to lead the offense.

The next day, on September 24th, Nick Pivetta fired seven scoreless innings, allowing just three singles and a walk. The Red Sox lost the game 1-0 on one of the shortest possible home runs, that just curled around the "Pesky Pole" enough to just make it into the first row at 311 ft.

In Pivetta's next start on September 30th, he was again dominant. He pitched seven scoreless innings, struck out 10 Oriole batters and allowed just two hits, winning 3 to 0.

Kutter Crawford retired 18 of the 19 batters he faced and pitched a one-hitter against the Orioles the next day, on September 30th. It was the sixth time he had gone at least six innings. He got no run support, however, and the bullpen lost the game, 5 to 2.

Tanner Houck followed that up the next day on October 1st, throwing a one-hitter himself over six innings. On the final day of the season, the Sox beat the Orioles, 6 to 1. Sale, Pivetta, Crawford, and Houck combined to give up one run in 24 innings to finish the season.

The Red Sox (78-84) in 2023 were mediocre for most of the season before bottoming out and becoming a sub .500 ball club in September. At home, they were only 39-42 and finished in last place for the third time in the last four years with the same record as they had in 2022. When the hitting was there, they didn't have the pitching and, vice versa too many times throughout the season. And Alex Cora can take his share of the blame, with players playing iun different positions and strange lineup construction. And if the team seemed not to be motivated, then he is to blame.

Players like Kike Hernandez and Christian Arroyo underperformed to the point that they had lost the roles that they initially had locked down. But several young players like Triston Casas, Jarren Duran, Connor Wong, Ceddanne Rafaela, and Wilyer Abreu, emerged as members of a legitimate young core this year. They also got a lot out of some short-term players like Enmanuel Valdez and Pablo Reyes, who were only expected to have meager contributions to the team.

It was hard to win when the starting pitchers could rarely get them into the fifth inning or later and there were one or two bullpen games each week for a month and a half. No starter with ten or more starts had an ERA below 4.20. The Sox ranked 21st in team ERA (4.52), 24th in opponent average (.256) and 24th in homers allowed (28).

Their struggles can partially be attributed to numerous injuries. Former Cy Young winner Corey Kluber only threw 55 innings, as he dealt with a lingering shoulder injury throughout the year. Tanner Houck dealt with lower back issues and the facial fracture, Garrett Whitlock experienced elbow problems, James Paxton missed time due to his hamstring and knee, and Chris Sale missed a large chunk of the season with shoulder inflammation.

The Sox offense finished with the third-best batting average on balls in play, seventh-best OPS, and ninth-most runs scored in all of baseball. Their lineup was one of the better lineups in baseball, but when the bats were quieted by opposing pitchers, the Sox couldn't compete.

The other problem all year was that many games were either lost or had the team in a hole, because the Sox threw the ball away, dropped the ball, or made mistakes running the bases. The Red Sox ranked dead last in MLB, in outs above average and runs allowed. They committed 101 errors with a .982 fielding percentage, second worst in the majors in both categories. A few of their biggest liabilities were Rafael Devers and Kike Hernandez. Devers had 19 errors, tied for third-most in baseball, and Kike had 14, tied for seventh-most in baseball before he was sent back to the Dodgers.

Despite it, the Sox were in the chase after the All-Star break. But they got no pitching help at the trade deadline and were beaten by the teams ahead of them late in the season when it mattered most.

Masataka Yoshida was still getting accustomed to a new league after playing seven years professionally in Japan’s NPB, and it was clear the new level of play had an effect on him. Fatigue resulted in some off days down the stretch as his play slipped. But he was a solid "Rookie of the Year" candidate, batting .289 with 15 HRs, 33 doubles, and eight stolen bases without getting caught. On defense however, he struggled, something the Sox could live with when he was hot at the plate.

The Red Sox paid Rafael Devers (.271 BA) to be the centerpiece of their organization, but he instead looked broken. He reverted to a defensive disaster, leading all third basemen with 14 errors, which merely obscured his inconsistency on offense, where he's on pace for a rather ho-hum season. He showed his power with 33 home runs and 100 RBIs and won the AL "Silver Slugger" award, but didn't come through in the clutch much too often. Devers' OPS (.851) has declined in four straight seasons, starting with a high of .916 in 2019.

Justin Turner was easily the Sox MVP and had nothing but positives at 38 years old. Not only did he perform on the field, but had a positive veteran presence in the clubhouse. He filled in admirably at both corner infield positons and even played some second base. He also set a new career high with 96 RBIs while batting .276 with 23 home runs and 31 doubles. He was the team’s best hitter with men on base and in scoring position.

When camp broke, it was Connor Wong and Reese McGuire who landed as the catchers on the Opening Day roster. Initially, the pair split playing time, but soon Wong was taking on a bigger role. Wong emerged as the Sox' starting catcher. McGuire missed a month with an injury, but even still, Wong started 105 games behind the plate, compared to McGuire’s 57. McGuire batted a respectable .267 in 187 at-bats. Wong found ways to stay healthy throughout the year, perhaps one of his biggest feats considering the spike in playing time. He hit .234 with a .636 OPS and too many strikeouts, but was also tied for the second most errors among catchers with 11.

Triston Casas (.265 BA) had an outstanding rookie season and was there for consideration as a viable nominee for "Rookie of the Year". In the first half, he was tentative, took a lot of free passes, and batted below .200 through the middle of June. He then got more aggressive at the plate and turned it around. Since the All-Star game he batted .317, had a 1.034 OPS with 15 homers, and in July hit .349. Yet with all the positives, he showed he needs to improve in the field.

Jarren Duran had a breakout season before getting injured. His speed was a game-changer and he consistently got his bat on the ball, turning singles into doubles, with 24 stolen bases in 26 attempts. He batted an excellent .295 over 102 games, with 34 doubles.

Alex Verdugo (.264 BA) had a roller-coaster season at the plate. Through June 27th, he batted .307 with a .856 OPS. But after the All-Star break, he batted only .225 with a .635 OPS. But in right field he was excellent. He was second in the majors in defensive runs saved with nine.

Trevor Story had offseason surgery and was replaced at shortstop by Kike Hernandez. As good as he was in centerfield last season, Kike was horrible at short, committing 14 errors in 247 chances (.943%). He stood as a symbol of everything that was wrong with the Red Sox in the first half. Counted on for much, he delivered almost nothing.

Story solidified the Sox infield once he came back. He played in just 43 games and yet was still ranked fourth among major league shortstops defensively, with only two errors in 141 chances. He had trouble getting back on track at the plate, however, with just 168 at-bats, and an anemic .203 BA.

Adam Duvall started like a house on fire before breaking his wrist, three weeks into the season. He was 15 for 33 in eight games, for a .455 BA, when he went down. When he came back, he wasn't the same as before, taking a while to get back on track, finishing with a .247 BA, with 21 home runs.

September call-up, Wilyer Abreu, who was acquired in the trade for Christian Vazquez last season, bаtted .316 (24-for-76) with 14 RBIѕ іn 28 gаmeѕ and was very impressive in his very short time at the big league level.

The other call-up, Ceddanne Rafaela, (.241 BA in 28 games) emerged as a star with the WooSox and his anticipated debut was a pleasure to watch in the field. Able to play centerfield and shortstop, he performed very well at both positions at the big league level, but his strikeout rate showed very little discipline at the plate.

Brayan Bello was a bright spot in the Sox' lackluster rotation. From April thru June he carried a great 2.33 ERA. In the middle of the summer, Bello truly became a workhorse for the rotation, going at least six innings in eight of his nine starts between June and July. He finished with a 12-11 record with a 4.24 ERA with 132 strikeouts in 157 innings. A puzzling question however was why he didn't perform, nearly as well, in day baseball games. In the daytime, he was 3-5 with a 6.94 ERA. In night games he was 9-6 with a 3.06 ERA.

Chris Sale (6-5, 4.30 ERA) had the most to prove and showed flashes of the old superstar that he was. In his last five starts before going on the injured list in early June with a stress fracture of his shoulder blade, he was 5-0 with a 2.23 ERA with 35 strikeouts in 32 1/3 innings pitched. He finished the campaign strongly after coming back, allowing one or no runs in four of his final five starts.

James Paxton, who hadn’t pitched a full season since 2019, when his career was stalled by "Tommy John" surgery and a shoulder injury, went 7-5 with a 4.50 ERA in 19 starts and 96 innings. He was one of the game's top pitchers in June, earning the AL "Pitcher of the Month" after going 3-0 with a 1.74 ERA in five starts, but at the end of the season he disappeared.

Nick Pivetta (4.04 ERA) was a crucial part of the staff. He initially posted an ugly 6.30 ERA as a starter, at the beginning of the season. But after he got sent to the bullpen in the middle of May and worked on his repertoire, the disaster turned out to be one of the best seasons of his big league career. In his final four starts, he allowed just 13 hits and recorded 33 strikeouts, including 10 against the Yankees on Sept. 12th and 10 against the Orioles on September 29th. In September, his ERA was 2.43

Kutter Crawford (6-8) was the anchor of the rotation. He posted a 4.04 ERA in 31 outings (23 starts) this season and opponents batted just .221 against him. He was known for pounding the strike zone and averaged 9.4 strikeouts per nine innings, compared to just 2.4 walks per nine innings.

Tanner Houck was underperforming through his first 13 starts when he was struck by a line drive in the face on June 16th and was sidelined for more than two months. He finished an up-and-down year with a 5.01 ERA and 99 strikeouts through 21 starts (106 innings). In the final analysis he was just OK.

The Red Sox' bullpen was second-best in the majors with a 73 percent save percentage while posting the fewest blown saves in baseball with just 16. The team also owned the best record (59-4) when leading after six innings.

The best pitcher on the staff was reliever, Chris Martin, who had a career season at 37 years old. In 55 games, he had a 1.05 ERA, allowing only six earned runs in 51 1/3 innings, throughout the whole season. The last run he gave up was on June 9th. He had 46 strikeouts and allowed just eight walks.

One of the big surprises was reliever Brennan Bernardino. Predominantly a reliever he had been one of the most reliable in pressure situations. Acquired on waivers in April, he turned out to be quite the find. Hard not to root for a guy who worked so hard just to stay in the game. He allowed just four inherited runners to score in 48 1/3 innings pitched and recorded  a 3.20 ERA, striking out 55 batters in 52 appearances.

Josh Winckowski was reliable workhorse coming out of the bullpen, with the second-lowest 2.88 ERA on the team, and 80 strikeouts in 60 appearances and 84 1/3 innings pitched.

Closer, Kenley Jansen was still one of the better closers in the majors. He had a 3.63 ERA, the second-worst of his career, and his 29 saves, 44 2/3 innings and, 27.7 percent strikeout rate were also among career lows. The numbers by themselves aren’t awful however. Jansen was, after all, the lone Red Sox All-Star this summer after a strong first half, where he notched his 400th career save. Meanwhile, all those numbers came in a year where the Sox did not provide him with a lot of save opportunities.