After 10 straight losses, the Boston Red Sox entered the week with a lot of questions. The Red Sox were coming off a rough start to their road trip, being swept by the Tampa Bay Rays. Now they would head out for an interleague four-game series against the Atlanta Braves, playing two games in Atlanta followed by two games in Boston.
The Braves were wrapping up a nine-game home stand and won five out of the first seven games. It presented a tough match up for Boston and a real possibility of a road sweep. To make matters worse, the series started off with Clay Buchholz on the mound. Buchholz entered the day with a 6.32 earned run average, as his mechanics have remained out of sync the entire season. Meanwhile the Red Sox lineup ranked 25th in runs and would be without Shane Victorino and Mike Napoli. With a 20-29 record putting them last in the AL East, the defending World Series champion Red Sox needed a spark to get them going again.
Things got off to a poor start Monday; Buchholz was pulled after three innings after allowing six earned runs on four hits and eight walks. Boston trailed 6-1 moving into the fifth inning and Braves starter Ervin Santana was dealing. With two outs and no one on, Boston sent Daniel Nava to the plate and he got into a 0-2 count. Nava entered the game with a .137 batting average. Instead of challenging Nava, Ervin pitched around the corners and walked him. It seemed like a small moment, but that walk led to the Red Sox turning things around. The Red Sox loaded the bases, Dustin Pedroia drove in two runs with a single and David Ortiz capped off the comeback with a game-tying three-run shot.
Boston would go on to score two more runs in the seventh and their bullpen shut out the Braves' lineup after Buchholz exit. The Red Sox snapped their 10-game losing streak thanks to clutch hitting, a theme that has continued this week. They trailed Atlanta 3-2 in the seventh and responded with a four-run inning to pick up a 6-3 win. Boston returned home to finish off their four-game series with the Braves and shut them out and Wednesday. Their biggest win of the week though may have come on Thursday to wrap up their series. They tied the game in the eighth and followed with a shutdown inning in the top of the ninth. Facing off against the best closer in the game, Craig Kimbrel, the Red Sox brought out the clutch gene once again. With a runner on first and second, Xander Bogaerts drilled an infield single. Jackie Bradley Jr. advanced to third but ran home for the winning run on a Braves error. The Red Sox celebrated the win and a big four game sweep against one of the top National League teams.
The Red Sox have now won five straight games thanks to a walk-off single by A.J. Pierzynski on Friday. 10 straight losses followed by five straight wins, and all Boston needed was that one spark to really get things going. But the man behind the Red Sox strong week is Bogaerts. Over the past five games, the young shortstop continues to get on base with a .455 batting average. His ability to get on base including three straight games with three hits, has resulted in him coming around to score in five straight games. eDraft's Sabermetrics show how well Bogaerts has been playing in the last week—a .577 batting average on balls in play and 10.56 runs created jumps out. Bogaerts is only a rookie but has the discipline and eye of a veteran at the plate.
Often all good teams need to get going again is a little momentum from one win, and a comeback on the road makes a down clubhouse feel uplifted and motivated again. Now the question is which team are the Red Sox. Are they the club that struggled to put runs on the board and had a team ERA in the fours, or are they much closer to what we saw this week and of course during their World Series run. Their lineup will be helped out by the return of Napoli and a trip to the disabled list is just what Buchholz needs. He can spend time refining his mechanics and finding the form he had last year with a 1.74 ERA in 16 starts. However, if Buchholz is unable to fix his issues, Boston has pitching prospect Allen Webster ready and waiting. Webster has been dominant at Triple-A Pawtucket with a 2.93 ERA in 12 starts.
While they may not have Jacoby Ellsbury anymore, the Red Sox still have all the pieces they need to compete in the AL East. Bogaerts is just 21, but has a real chance to develop quickly and give the Red Sox two great infielders. Plus with Stephen Drew returning Monday after re-signing in May, their is plenty to like about the Red Sox going forward. While the rotation may still have some questions, John Lackey and Jon Lester have been good enough to hold the fort down.