There are no words to describe what happened to the Boston Red Sox between September 9 and September 25. The Sox were 78-61 and clinging to a 1 game lead in the American League East race. They had Baltimore, Toronto and New York right behind them, their bullpen was suspect and apart from their first two starting pitchers, everyone else looked shakey. The next 17 games (all 23 really) were against the AL East and that's where the division would be decided. Incredibly the Sox won 14 out of 17 including an ELEVEN game win streak to put a choke-hold on the AL East race. Not only that, the Sox went from being 5 games behind the Texas Rangers to being tied with them for the AL's best record. In fact, they have a chance to finish with 96 wins, the same amount as the 2007 World Series champion Red Sox had. Here's a little recap of the past 17 days.
Game 1 - September 9 in Toronto
This game pretty much set the tone for the next 17 days as it matched Boston ace Rick Porcello against Marco Estrada. It was a no contest as Rick shut down the vaunted Jays offense while the Boston bats pounded Estrada and a host of Toronto relievers to win the game 13-3.
Game 2 - September 10 in Toronto
One of the lone hiccups during the entire stretch, this time it was the Red Sox who got shut down. Eduardo Rodriguez pitched well but he was outdueled by Jays ace JA Happ. The game turned on an error by Aaron Hill and the Jays won 3-2. Still, the Sox offense held the Jays offense to just 3 runs for the second game in a row.
Game 3 - September 11 in Toronto
This one was a total slugfest. After holding Toronto to 3 runs in each of the first two games, they exploded for 8 runs in this one. Starting pitcher Clay Buchholz didn't have it for the Red Sox....but neither did his counterpart Aaron Sanchez. The game turned when David Ortiz hit a 3 run home run off Juaquin Benoit (sound familiar?) in the top of the 6th and the bullpen held on to win it. The Sox went into Toronto up one game and left two on top.
Game 4 - September 12 against Baltimore
After taking two of three from Toronto, Baltimore was up next. Just like the Toronto series, the Sox bats sent a message by pounding Baltimore pitching for 12 runs while David Price of the Sox only allowed 2. It seemed amazing at the time that the Sox had won 3 out of 4 while Yankee fans were predicting their demise.
Game 5 - September 13 against Baltimore
Another of the few hiccups in the last 17 days. Baltimore starter Dylan Bundy and the vaunted Baltimore bullpen shut down the Red Sox as the O's bats pounded Drew Pomeranz for a 6-3 victory. Pomeranz had hit the proverbial innings wall and couldn't get his curveball over, paving away for the defeat.
Game 6 - September 14 against Baltimore
The last hiccup was a beauty to watch, just didn't end right. Boston ace Rick Porcello and Baltimore starter Kevin Gausman tossed zero's at each others offense for much of the night. The only difference in the game was a Mark Trumbo home run by Baltimore. Gausman and Cy Young candidate Zach Britton pitched a shut-out and took home a 1-0 victory. At this point the Sox were 81-64 with Baltimore a game behind, Toronto 2 games behind and the Yankees 3 behind.
Game 7 - September 15 against New York
The Yankees had a stranglehold on the game. They were leading 5-2 with 2 outs in the ninth, a victory would put them just 2 behind the Red Sox for first place in the AL East. Then the Boston bats rallied off closer Delan Betances and Hanley Ramirez hit a shocking 3 run walkoff home run to give the Sox a 7-5 victory. It ended up ripping the hearts out of the Yankees that they never recovered from. Payback for 1991 indeed.
Game 8 - September 16 against New York
"Unpredictable" Clay Buchholz came alive for this one as the Boston bats pounded rookie starter Luis Cessa. Buchholz tossed 6 innings of 2 run ball and apart from a 2 run homer off Fernando Abad in the ninth, the Sox pitching dominated the Yankee bats. The Sox needed either Rodriguez or Buchholz to step up to be their potential third starter in the playoffs and this was a good showing for Clay.
Game 9 - September 17 against New York
The Sox ripped the hearts out of the Yankees once again, picking up a shaken David Price who was pitching mere hours after the death of his best friend. Price left trailing 5-4 but the Sox rallied in the bottom of the 7th, scoring the go-ahead run on a wild pitch. The bullpen got the final 6 outs and the Sox had taken 3 in a row from the Yankees, effectively knocking them out of the division race with just 14 games left.
Game 10 - September 18 against New York.
Once again Drew Pomeranz didn't have it and the Sox were down 4-0 in the bottom of the fifth. Hanley Ramirez, the new Yankee killer, blasted a 3 run home run off CC Sabbathia to put Boston back in it. The Sox tied it an inning later and Ramirez again hit the go-ahead home run in the bottom of the seventh. Once again the Sox bullpen held up and the Sox swept the Yankees in a 4 game set for the first time since 1990. The Sox won the division that year too. At this point the Sox had won 7 out of 10 to put themselves 3 games ahead of Baltimore with just 13 games left. The next series in Baltimore would pretty much decide the division title with Toronto scuffling.
Game 11 - September 19 in Baltimore
In front of a paltry crowd of 18,456 to watch the division title be decided, Rick Porcello once again dazzled the Baltimore offense, tossing a complete game allowing just 2 runs. This time the Sox offense pounced on Dylan Bundy and the Sox opened the crucial 4 game set with a 5-2 victory.
Game 12 - September 20 in Baltimore
Eduardo Rodriguez made his case for the 3rd starter spot in the playoff rotation by shutting down the Baltimore offense, going 6 1/3 innings and allowing just 2 runs. This time Kevin Gausman wasn't as unhittable and the Sox took the game 5-2 with more shut-down pitching from their bullpen. The bullpen ERA for the month of September at this point was 0.89, THAT'S how you make it to the post-season. At this point the Sox were 4 games in front of the Blue Jays with 11 to play.
Game 13 - September 21 in Baltimore
The Sox were trailing 1-0 heading into the top of the sixth when an error and a 3 run bomb by rookie Andrew Benintendi gave the Sox a 5-1 lead in the blink of an eye. Clay Buchholz, Brad Ziegler, Robby Scott and Craig Kimbel kept the O's off the board and the Sox had won their 7th straight game and second consecutive series. A sweep was possible but eight straight wins in the middle of September could be asking too much.
Game 14 - September 22 in Baltimore
If there was a game to lose, this was it. The O' had their ace Chris Tillman on the mound, who already had defeated Sox starter David Price earlier in the year. The Boston bats turned back the clock to 2013, running up Tillman's pitch count and knocking him out in the third inning. Price pitched well and the Sox swept the series with a 5-3 victory. Back to back 4 game sweeps had the Sox winning 8 in a row with a 5.5 game lead in the division race with just 9 games left. The Sox were most likely headed to at least a wild card but in order to keep in front of the Blue Jays, they'd have to win their next series in Tampa Bay.
Game 15 - September 23 in Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay may be in last place but they certainly didn't pitch like it in this 3 game set. Their much maligned ace Chris Archer was game, limiting Boston to just 2 runs in 6 innings. The only problem was the Sox got a big lift from Drew Pomeranz and the red hot Boston bullpen to edge Tampa 2-1. John Farrell was beginning to use mix and matchups well and it showed as he outwitted the Rays with Robbie Ross Jr, Robby Scott, Joe Kelly, Matt Barnes and Brad Ziegler. It was their 9th straight victory and one of their stigmas was they couldn't win low scoring games. They just did.
Game 16 - September 24 in Tampa Bay
At this point the Sox were inventing new ways to win. The Rays had once again limited the Sox to 2 runs in 6 innings and Rick Porcello had given up 3 through the bottom of the 6th. The Rays were still leading 3-2 with 2 outs in the 7th when Dustin Pedroia golfed a shocking grand slam off Danny Farquhar to give the Sox a 6-3 lead. A minor hiccup by closer Craig Kimbrel had the final score of 6-4 but the Sox had won their 10th straight. Another comeback win that many thought weren't possible a month before.
Game 17 - September 25 in Tampa Bay
In one of the weirdest games ever seen, the Sox set a major league record by striking out 23 Rays batters in a ten inning game. Still, the game went to the tenth inning due to superb pitching on both sides, allowing each other just 2 runs. Then in the top of the 10th, Pedroia made one of the most incredible plays, literally dancing around a play at the plate to score the go-ahead run. David Ortiz was visibly shaken most of the game due to the sudden death of Miami Marlins ace Jose Fernandez, but his double in the 10th scored Pedroia. That was for you Jose. The Sox rode Joe Kelly to victory in the bottom of the 10th, the Sox ELEVENTH in a row.
The Sox went into Toronto up 1 game in the AL East at 78-61 and left Tampa Bay 92-64 up 5.5 games with just 6 to play. Also the Sox have blown past the Cleveland Indians and tied the Texas Rangers for the best record in the American League. The Blue Jays and the Texas Rangers both lost meaning the Sox are a half game in front of Texas for best record in the American League AND 6 games up in the division race with 6 to play...and the Sox didn't even play tonight. Now the division race is pretty much over unless the Sox get swept by New York and Toronto sweeps Baltimore. Then the Sox would come home to play Toronto in the final 3 games with the division title on the line. Just one win in the next 6 games would clinch the division for Boston. Obviously New York will try to play spoiler but the way the Sox have been winning this month, that may not be enough. All in all the Sox were in control of their own destiny and for the first 17 games of the final 23, they took control in a big way. They have a chance to be something special this year if they can keep the momentum going in the final 6 games.
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