Boston Red Sox
“It is pretty incredible, and it’s been a fun ride, and we want to keep it going.”
Willson Contreras celebrates his two-run home run Sunday. Steven Senne/AP Photo
July 19, 2026 | 6:58 PM
4 minutes to read
When you really take a second to think about it, it’s legitimately inconceivable that this Red Sox team is by far the hottest in baseball and amid a truly miraculous postseason push.
It’s one thing for a contender to rip off 13 straight wins. It’s another for a seemingly hopeless, last-place team to rise from the dead and sucker-punch four consecutive helpless opponents.
This team just didn’t have it. You know it when you see it. We’ve seen it a lot around here. That unmistakable “it factor,” where it feels like it’s just a matter of time before the opposition crumbles.
Instead, the Red Sox had the “ick factor,” where watching them felt like a chore and fans were counting down the days until the offseason.
Then, suddenly, everything started to click. Four against the Yankees. Three more versus the Angels, White Sox and Mets. That was great and all, but could they sustain it after the All-Star break? Well, after sweeping the Rays in a four-game set this weekend — capped by a resounding, 6-1, triumph at Fenway Park on Sunday — it’s abundantly clear that this team is here to stay.
This is no fluke. This is the new norm. Amid their longest winning streak since 1948 — with a superstar named Ted Williams at the crux of the action — the Red Sox (50-48) have established themselves as legitimate contenders.
Interim manager Chad Tracy, who continues to prove he belongs, said his focus is on the next game against Baltimore. At the same time, he acknowledged the magic of the run and what it entails.
“I won’t shy away from what we’re doing,” Tracy said. “It is pretty incredible, and it’s been a fun ride, and we want to keep it going.”
It’s not just that they’re winning; it’s how they’re winning. The rotation was never the problem. It was clear all along that if, by some miracle, the Red Sox could consistently score runs, they would put themselves in prime position to win games.
After scoring 28 against the Rays — doing so with a mix of small ball and refreshing power — this lineup looks dangerous.
The variety in Sunday’s game encapsulated what has clicked for the group in recent weeks. In the third inning, they scored three runs without recording a hit for the fifth time in the Expansion Era (since 1961) and first time since 2015. They were patient at the plate, opportunistic in key spots, and found a way to manufacture runs.
Then, in the fifth, Willson Contreras put the game out of reach with an opposite-field, two-run homer, to make it 6-1. He has homered in four of his last seven contests and is tied for the Major League lead in games with multiple RBIs (20).
“We have to take advantage when everything is coming your way, and seeking small things to have very big, big results,” Contreras said.
On the mound, ace Sonny Gray didn’t have his best stuff but still managed to allow just one run in six innings to improve to 12-1. Gray, noting that what he did Sunday is not sustainable, said he was a “little bit rusty.”
He consciously reminded himself that he didn’t have to be perfect, as long as he found a way to give the team a chance to prevail. Having a lineup behind him that can put runs on the board is a refreshing change of pace, and feeding off the energy from the fans helped Gray power through in key spots.
“The fans were electric for us this weekend,” Gray said. “I’m getting chills. I mean, it was really, really special. People say coming to Boston and playing in Boston, there’s nothing like winning in Boston. The fans are a part of it, and we appreciate the energy that they bring. We need it.”
This is what it’s supposed to look like around here. No empty seats, “Sweet Caroline” has some extra oomph, and fans on their feet throughout the game. Taking off their shirts and waving them may not be entirely necessary, but it illuminates the point that people care again.
The last MLB teams to win 18 out of any span of 20 regular season games:
2006 Twins
2011 Brewers
2013 Rays
2013 Braves
2013 Dodgers
2017 Dodgers
2017 Indians
2018 Yankees
2019 Brewers
2021 Cardinals
2022 Dodgers
2023 Braves
2025 Brewers
2026 Red Sox 🔥pic.twitter.com/fY3HfN9lCb
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) July 19, 2026
For Contreras, who has brought the energy throughout, watching the ballpark come alive around him has been extremely gratifying.
“I don’t want them to start saying, like shouting, ‘Sell the team!’ I don’t like that,” Contreras said. “I take that personally, but they’re passionate about it. But I’m really proud of the team, of my team. Really proud of the work we’ve done. Really proud because of the way we started, how we are right now. And I know there’s a lot of games ahead, but they make me proud.”
This is a scrappy, unflappable, and determined group that fans can get behind. They’re likely not going to win 77 in a row to end the regular season (or maybe they will), but the games matter again, the vibes are back, and the energy is electric.
That’s all you can ask for, especially considering where they started.
“We’ve just rolled with the punches so well,” said infielder Caleb Durbin. “It feels like we can’t do any wrong right now.”
Trevor Hass is a sports producer for Boston.com, where he writes and edits stories about Boston’s professional teams, among other tasks.
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