While Mookie Betts was talking to the media after Boston's 6-4 win against Tampa Bay on Friday night, SS Xander Bogaerts got into camera view, crossed his arms and smiled, prompting a smirk from Betts. The Sox had their swag back, a swag they hadn't shown much of to start off the year, as they limped into Tampa to play the hottest team in the AL with a 6-13 record.
This sweep of the Rays was the first time all year the Red Sox looked like world series contenders, which they still very much are. At spots they had failed during the first two weeks of the year, they stepped up in during this series. Alex Cora added that "We have to go home and keep getting better, that's what we have to do." Entering the weekend, the Sox were 18th in total offense and dead last in team ERA.
The Sox had to place Nathan Eovaldi on the IL with loose bodies in his throwing elbow, so the rotation needs to step up in his absence. All of Boston's starters against Tampa, which were Eduardo Rodriguez, Rick Porcello, and David Price, did their part in containing Tampa Bay's offense and giving their own offense opportunities throughout the series. The 3 starters combined to give up only 7 earned runs.
David Price was certainly excited after the sweep. He told the media that "It was big for us after we lost two games in New York, and then to come here against one of the best two teams in the American League right now and to win three in a row, that was big for us." Price went 5 innings in Sunday's series finale and struck out 10 batters.
The Sox were coming off a series where the offense faltered when a run was needed. The offense delivered when needed in a series where just 4 runs separated them and Tampa Bay over the 3 games. On Friday night, Mookie Betts and Mitch Moreland hit back to back homers in the 8th inning to propel the Sox to a 6-4 win. Michael Chavis's long double(which was his first MLB hit) set up Andrew Benintendi's sac fly to score the winning run in Boston's 6-5 victory on Saturday. In the Sunday finale, Christian Vazquez's game winning sac fly only happened because Rafael Devers and Michael Chavis worked the counts to get on base, and Jackie Bradley Jr bunted them both over.
Yes, it is still April. Yes, Boston still has 140 games left to play. But have they looked legit lately? That answer would be yes. After starting 2-8 the Sox have won 7 out of 12 games to finish the week with a 9-13 record. Many Sox fans have panicked, but not the team, according to David Price. Price said that "We aren't worried about outside of this clubhouse, we know the type of team we have inside of this clubhouse, and I think we showed that the last three days." The Red Sox are opening up a homestand today that starts with a 4 game series against the Detroit Tigers, before the play Tampa Bay again this coming weekend, this time it will be in Boston.
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