Don't look now, but the Red Sox are coming up fast.
On the morning of May 18, Boston was spinning its wheels. The Red Sox were 19-20 and 8 1/2 games back from the division-leading Rays. The hated boys from New York stole one in the ninth from Jonathan Papelbon and hung an 11-spot on the scoreboard to drop the Sox below .500.
But May 18 served as a turning point. When it looked as if the wheels had fallen off and Josh Beckett left the game with an injury, the Red Sox responded with six runs in the final two frames to steal one back from the Yanks and climb back to 20-20. New York may have played the game in protest, but Boston did not believe this was the best it could be.
And since then, the Sox have proven they can play much better.
They finished the month 9-3 and kept chugging along with that late-May momentum. An 11-5 June has put Boston only two games behind the Rays and Yankees, who are tied atop the AL East. The powerhouses of the entire season can't believe it. They better start, though, because Boston is playing by far its best baseball of the season because of four main reasons.
1. Dominant pitching duo
The resurgence starts with the phenomenal pitching duo of Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz. As every manager in the bigs will attest, a powerful offense sure is helpful, but dominant pitching consistently wins games. That is exactly what Lester and Buchholz have done in 2010. Lester, who hasn't lost since April 18, is 8-2 with a 3.13 ERA this season, and batters are hitting a paltry .206 against him. The lefty also has nearly three times as many strikeouts (96) as walks (33).
Buchholz isn't too shabby, either, turning in a 9-4 record with a 2.67 ERA. Though his stats are not quite as dominant as Lester's in other categories, three of Buchholz's four losses have come when he's given up three runs or less. With injuries to Beckett and Daisuke Matsuzaka, these two have kept the Sox’ pitching staff stable and prevented the team from going into a run-yielding tailspin.
2. The return of Big Papi
One home run, four RBIs, and a .143 average. That's what David Ortiz did in April. Luckily for the Red Sox, May was much more forgiving. The big slugger regained his old form to hit .363 last month, including 10 homers and 27 RBIs. His May OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) was an astounding 1.212, more than doubling his weak May showing. Although Ortiz hasn't been quite as dominant in June as he was in May (three home runs, 12 RBIs so far), he has provided the looming threat of a home run once again while increasing his patience — Big Papi has walked three more times in June than he did in the entire month of May. He's lengthening innings by getting on base, and other hitters have the chance to bring him home.
3. Seamless roster shuffle
Given the number of injuries the Red Sox have sustained this season, it would make a lot more sense for the team to be 28-40, not the other way around. The impressive flexibility and creativity of manager Terry Francona to shuffle his roster, sometimes on a daily basis, has kept Boston competitive. Jacoby Ellsbury has been out, back in, and back out again. Jeremy Hermida was just getting used to left field before Adrian Beltre crushed his comfort level (and his ribs). It's always uncertain if Mike Cameron is going to be healthy. No matter, Francona said. He's inserted Darnell McDonald, Bill Hall and the recent fan favorite Daniel Nava into the vacant spots, and the lineup hasn't missed a beat.
The pitching staff, too, has been anything but a model of health. Beckett has been out since May 19 and Matsuzaka needed to hit the DL literally minutes before his last start. Even still, Francona has found a way to put a good-enough — and sometimes fantastic — arm on the mound. If Felix Doubront wows in Fenway like he has in Pawtucket, it will be just another success in replacing a fallen pitcher for the Sox’ skipper. Though the manager isn't often praised, Francona deserves it right now.
4. Mr. Consistency
If it isn't his nickname already, it should be. Kevin Youkilis simply cannot be rattled — not even from nagging back pain or getting drilled in the elbow by a pitch. The infielder is hitting at a .313 clip and has belted 13 home runs while driving in 44 RBIs. He has a season OPS of 1.030, good for fourth in the AL. And what's even scarier is that he continues to improve each month:
April: .270 BA, 12 RBIs
May: .329 BA, 17 RBIs
June: .358 BA, 15 RBIs
As long as Youkilis is in the lineup, the Sox are going to score runs.
It's fair to say all four of these reasons have had a huge impact on the Red Sox' return to the top of the AL. But which one is the biggest reason for their recent success? You can cast your vote in the poll below, or you can select "Other" and comment with another reason if you're not sold on any of these four.
What Has Been the Biggest Reason for the Red Sox' Recent Success?Market Research
