The Boston Red Sox clinched a postseason spot despite a 5-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays, backed by Mike Yastrzemski’s three-run home run for the Atlanta Braves against the Houston Astros. Boston completes an improbable turnaround from a 32-46 start under interim manager Chad Tracy.
The celebratory soundtrack inside the Red Sox clubhouse late Sunday afternoon harked back to 1977, as the Bee Gees track “Stayin’ Alive” played on an endless loop. Just under an hour after dropping a 5-1 contest to the Tampa Bay Rays in St. Petersburg, Boston secured its return to the postseason thanks to a combination of their own midsummer surge and help elsewhere.
That help arrived via poetic justice when Mike Yastrzemski—grandson of Red Sox legend Carl Yastrzemski—belted a tie-breaking, three-run home run for the Atlanta Braves to break a 1-1 deadlock against the Houston Astros. With the Astros falling in that matchup, the Red Sox officially punched their playoff ticket, setting off a scene featuring beer, spraying champagne, random water hoses, and cigar smoke.
An Improbable Turnaround From a 32-46 Start
Excessive celebrations might raise eyebrows for a mere Wild Card entry rather than a division champion, but few teams have reached October via such a turbulent path. They didn’t take no for an answer,
interim manager Chad Tracy said. Tracy stepped into the role on April 26 after chief baseball officer Craig Breslow dismissed long-time manager Alex Cora and reassigned or dismissed six coaches following a 10-17 start on a Saturday night in Baltimore.
When the Red Sox hit the 78-game mark with a dismal 32-46 record, a playoff berth seemed entirely out of reach. History records no other team advancing to finish above .500 after dropping as many as 46 of their first 78 games, let alone capturing a postseason spot.
We believed in the players that we had, and I felt it was really important that we acted definitively and decisively when we did, so that we could create an environment around the players that was supportive, and that would allow them to thrive. And they responded, and while there might have been people that questioned what this group was capable of, I think they answered resoundingly.
Craig Breslow, Red Sox chief baseball officer
Midsummer Dominance and Franchise-Tying Streaks
The reversal of fortune took definitive shape during an electrifying stretch of summer baseball. The turnaround kicked into gear with a four-game sweep of the rival New York Yankees at Fenway Park from June 25 to June 28. Shortly after, on July 3, Boston launched a 15-game winning streak that equaled a franchise record established by the 1946 pennant-winning club featuring Ted Williams, Bobby Doerr, Dom DiMaggio, and Johnny Pesky.
Even after that streak ended, the team immediately reeled off another nine consecutive victories, powering a historic 30-game stretch where they went 27-3. Between June 25 and August 7, the Red Sox put together an extraordinary 32-5 run.
When you work as hard as we have worked, it was almost July [before we got going], and to fight as hard as we did, to put ourselves in the position we did, I don’t think you care much how [the spot is clinched]. You just want to see your ticket get punched.
Chad Tracy, interim manager
Locker Room Belief and the Road Ahead at Yankee Stadium
First baseman Willson Contreras emerged as a vital spiritual leader during his debut season in Boston, keeping his teammates focused through injuries and a mid-season coaching overhaul. Long before the club secured its postseason ticket, Contreras rallied the clubhouse via a group text message.
I did believe in my team. I did believe in everybody who was here. I never had a doubt that this team would get to the position we are in. At one point, I texted the team and I just said, ‘Keep believing in ourselves.’ I said, ‘Believe.’ That was our main word. And that’s what we believed from Day 1.
Willson Contreras, Red Sox first baseman
As the champagne flowed, Contreras addressed his teammates directly, reminding them that surviving the grueling regular season was merely the preliminary hurdle. Currently holding the No. 5 seed, Boston prepares for a best-of-three Wild Card Series projected to begin at Yankee Stadium on September 29. The matchup sets up a postseason rematch of last year’s series, where the Yankees advanced in three games following an opening victory by Red Sox pitcher Garrett Crochet.
Keep reading
