Sox Start Off Red-Hot

By Christopher Lowe

The Red Sox are red hot, and it seems like Bostonians will have a lot to be happy about as baseball season is underway. The Sox recently completed a 12-2 route over the struggling Angels of Anaheim and moved to 7-3 overall on the season sitting just one game behind first place. Reese Maguire had himself a day driving in a career-high of five runs thanks to a clutch three-run home run in the sixth inning. Maguire sports a .333 batting average in eight hits in 24 at-bats thus far on the season and has been a big part of the Sox offense.

Tyler O’Neill has started to piece together an impressive home run streak as he hit his third long ball of the series as well as his fifth home run of the season against the Halos. Tanner Houck, who currently has been nothing short of fantastic this season, went six shutout innings. Houck currently has pitched a whopping 12 innings this year surrendering just seven hits and has yet to give up a run. After an impressive 10-game road trip to start the season, the Red Sox have lived up to the hype going 7-3 in that span. They are set to open up at home against Baltimore this week, who currently sit in third place with a record of 5-4. While the series against Los Angeles did bring the Sox some victory, they suffered a major loss after their shortstop, Trevor Story, left the game with a shoulder subluxation. 

The Pitching staff has been the true story of the season so far as they continue to prove naysayers wrong on the bump. Red Sox starting pitchers were phenomenal against the Angels, giving up just one earned run in a 14-inning span. Sox fans also have more to smile about as off-season signings have been playing far beyond expectations this early in the year, Tyler Oneill who was acquired from the Cardinals over the off-season has notched five home runs on the year and will only become more important to the team given Trevor Story’s absence. Justin Slayten, who was picked up from the New York Mets, has made a fantastic first impression and has yet to walk a batter or give up an earned run in his first 5.1 innings pitched. 

While Breslow’s decisions might not have made much sense during the off-season, they certainly seem to be panning out quite nicely given a solid 7-3 record. If the Sox want a shot at the AL East crown it’s going to have to be all hands on deck, until then, Boston is enjoying some winning baseball.