What the Red Sox have done under Chad Tracy the last few weeks has been incredible. He was left with a seven-game hole under Alex Cora’s management and that hurdle was even larger to jump. Their record 0f 41-31 under the interim manager is impressive.
The 9-game road winning streak was unbelievable. Yes, the Angels are a bad team. But the White Sox are not. And again, the Mets are a bad team. But the Mets and Angels still are winning about 40% of their games. Out of those six games you’d think at least one game would’ve gone to the underdog. But not this time.
A 14-game wining streak, like the Sox are currently involved in is a a once-in-several-generations event. The last time the Sox did this they still had Ted Williams!
Of course the Red Sox current run goes a little bit further: to the Yankees series. So you go from 14 wins and 0 losses to 18 and 2. 18-2. Add in 1 win and 2 losses against the Nationals and Rockies and the reverse against the Seattle Mariners and you have 21-5. A great stretch. Essentially the same as a run in another memorable year, 2004.
While the playoffs get most of the attention in 2004, and rightly so, the summer was an exciting time as well for the Red Sox. Of course a lot of ink and brain cells are spent on July 24th. Varitek and A-Rod. Bill Mueller hitting a walkoff against Mariano Rivera. These are big moments! They deserve attention.
And then the trade that shocked Red Sox Nation: Nomar. And as much as people remember the brawl as “the spark,” it was the trade more than anything. And even then Boston went 2-3 in first five games after the deadline.
The similarity? August. August was hot. Boston entered the month 9.5 games back of the Yankees and left it 3.5 back. The month was a 21-7 masterpiece. There was a 13-1 run. And a 14-2. And 17-3. It was a good month. And that’s what the Red Sox have done in July 2026. They went from out of it – division, Wild Card, .500, you name it – to very much in it. That’s not to say the AL East is in play – it’s probably not. But the Red Sox are 6.0 games back – closer than the Cubs to the Brewers, down by 7 games.
Coming off the loss in the 2003 ALCS people were ready for a big, fast start. And comeuppance for the Yankees. There was a trade for a pitcher (Schilling, Gray) to be the Number 2 (Pedro, Crochet). A top free agent pitcher added (Foulke, Suarez). A position player trade to address limited availability due to injury while boosting the defense (Nomar becomes Cabrera, Casas becomes Contreras).
These moves aren’t necessarily the same caliber. And this team does not have a Ortiz and Manny combination. This is not the 2004 Red Sox. But the current team has put up a month that is nothing short of legendary. And just like 2004, we shouldn’t forget this run, no matter what else happens in 2026.
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