Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox have now won 28 out of their last 33 games dating back to June 25.
The Red Sox hit three homers in the third inning of Sunday’s win. Luke Hales/Getty Images
The calendar has flipped to August, but the Red Sox don’t seem to be cooling down any time soon.
Boston’s second-half surge continued in Los Angeles, with the Red Sox completing a three-game sweep of arguably the best team in baseball, the Dodgers, on Sunday via an 8-4 victory.
With the win, the Red Sox have won 23 out of their last 27 games and hold onto the second AL Wild Card spot with a record of 60-51. They closed out their seven-game road trip to Sacramento and Los Angeles with a 6-1 showing.
The Red Sox’ lineup — which factored heavily into the club’s struggles over the first three months of the season — flexed its collective muscles at Dodger Stadium on Sunday, clubbing four home runs in the win.
That power surge was headlined by a three-homer salvo in the third inning — all of which came off of seven total pitches.
Ceddanne Rafaela opened the third inning with a bang, taking a hanging slider from Dodgers starter Emmet Sheehan and depositing it into the seats in left field for a solo shot to knot the game up at 3-3. It marked the fourth home run of the three-game series for Rafaela.
It only took one more pitch for the Red Sox to take the lead.
Just as Rafaela donned the Wally head in Boston’s dugout and was getting congratulated by his teammates, Wilyer Abreu jumped on another slider from Sheehan and golfed it 431 feet into right to make it a 4-3 game for the visiting team.
After Willson Contreras flied out on the next pitch from Sheehan, Masataka Yoshida gave Boston some added insurance. On just the fourth pitch of his at-bat, Yoshida jumped on an inside fastball and launched it into right field for another solo homer, giving Boston a 5-3 lead.
As noted by WEEI’s Rob Bradford, the Red Sox had only clubbed as many as three home runs in a single game three times before June 10.
Jarren Duran added a solo shot of his own in the sixth inning, while rookie starter Jake Bennett held his own against Los Angeles’ lineup, allowing three runs and six hits over 5.2 innings of work.
Sunday marked the latest statement win by a Red Sox club that is now a franchise-best 28-5 since June 25. As noted by former Red Sox stats guru J.P. Long, Boston has won its last 14 games vs. teams currently above .500 (4-0 vs Yankees, 3-0 at White Sox, 4-0 vs Rays, 3-0 at Dodgers).
Even with Boston’s pop at the plate on Sunday, there’s a case to be made that the Red Sox could still use another impact bat as this club readies for a playoff push, with only four big-league teams clubbing fewer home runs than Boston so far this season.
With MLB’s trade deadline set for 6 p.m. Monday, the Red Sox have been linked to several sluggers reportedly out on the market — including Washington shortstop CJ Abrams, Angels shortstop Zach Neto, and Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman.
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
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