The Red Sox punched their ticket on Sunday with a loss by the Houston Astros. It is Boston's second straight trip to the playoffs after reaching the postseason just once from 2019-24. Although it is not yet locked in, the Red Sox will likely play the rival New York Yankees in the Wild Card Series.
The postseason clincher comes after the Red Sox started the season 32-46, an ugly opening that saw manager Alex Cora lose his job and Craig Breslow, the team's chief baseball officer, field questions about his own job security. On June 25, the Red Sox beat the Yankees in the first of four games at Fenway Park to begin this run to a postseason berth. They went on to sweep that four-game series and have baseball's best record since June 25.
Credit the pitching staff, especially the rotation. Trade addition Sonny Gray, free-agent signing Ranger Suárez, and homegrown lefty Payton Tolle lead a rotation that is top five in WAR. The bullpen, anchored by closer Aroldis Chapman, has been among baseball's best as well.
The offense picked it up midseason to support that dynamite pitching staff. Last year, the Red Sox lost the Wild Card Series in three games at Yankee Stadium. They'll most likely get a chance to avenge that defeat this postseason.
Here now are three reasons this Red Sox team could go all the way and win the World Series. We see it every postseason: Home runs reign supreme in October. It is very, very hard to build a rally around multiple hits and walks in one inning, especially when teams lean so heavily on their best pitchers in the postseason.
You need to be able to put points on the board with one swing. Here are the numbers from the last few years: Fewer runs per game are scored in the postseason, yet home runs per game go up. Home runs get you to heaven in October and the Red Sox are one of the best teams in the game at keeping the ball in the park.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
