The Boston Red Sox are riding high heading into the All-Star break after sweeping their season-long nine-game road trip, doing something that hasn’t been done since 1977. 

“We have to win a lot of baseball games, and we don’t have a ton of time to do it. I believe we’re capable of doing it.” Those were the words from Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow on WEEI’s The Greg Hill Show on June 26, just one day after the Red Sox took game one from the Yankees in a series they would go on to sweep. 

At the time, many rolled their eyes; the Red Sox were still 13 games under .500 with the fewest wins in the league, and five games back of the final American League Wild Card spot. 

As it turns out, Breslow was right. Since June 26, Boston has gone 13-2, a run capped off by an undefeated nine-game road trip spanning three time zones. According to JP Long on Twitter/X, this winning streak marks only the second time in franchise history the team has swept a road trip of nine or more games, and the first time the feat has been accomplished since 1977. 

Thanks to that stretch, the Red Sox now find themselves as the hottest team in baseball heading into the All-Star break, just two games under .500 and half a game behind Minnesota and Seattle for that final American League playoff spot. 

“To be where we're at right now, based on where we were at 3 weeks ago, you couldn't ask for much more,” interim manager Chad Tracy said after Sunday’s miraculous win over the Mets. 

When the Red Sox entered play to kick off the four-game set against the Yankees, they held just a 10.3 percent chance of making the playoffs according to Fangraphs. After their 14-2 stretch, that number now stands at 39.4 percent, the highest chance they’ve had to reach the postseason since April 18. 

Since the start of the Yankees series, the Boston staff has a league-low 2.53 ERA. And while their bats have come alive at times, it’s been timely hitting that has kept that streak alive. There’s no better example of that than Sunday afternoon’s ninth-inning comeback against the Mets, where the pair of Payton Tolle and Brayan Bello held New York to only two runs until the Boston offense was able to claw its way to a 3-2 win in extras, taking advantage of walks and errors by the Mets. 

What has been most impressive about the Red Sox' run back into contention is that they’re doing it without the likes of Roman Anthony, Garrett Crochet, Trevor Story, and other pieces that were thought to be key to the success of the 2026 season. Instead, it’s been Breslow’s offseason acquisitions coming up big for the team when they needed it most. 

Utility man Anthony Seigler has been a revelation since being recalled on June 20, hitting .254/.325/.408/.733 in 20 games. But beyond the 27-year-old’s impact at the plate, he has provided a much-needed spark to a dugout that at times looked lifeless during the first three months of the season. 

Caleb Durbin, who was acquired alongside Seigler, has been one of Boston’s best hitters since the calendar turned to June, hitting .289/.351/.545/.896. All while providing gold glove defense at third base. 

Then, of course, there’s Jake Bennett, who was acquired in a rare offseason prospect swap for hard-throwing pitcher Luis Perales in a move that was heavily scrutinized at the time. The 25-year-old, though, has arguably been the best of the bunch in Boston’s elite staff, allowing only three earned runs in 21 innings while striking out 13 and walking only 3 in three starts during the Red Sox' run. 

The Red Sox' nine-game winning streak heading into the All-Star break has become somewhat of an annual tradition. According to Long, this is now the second time in franchise history the team has carried a nine-game-or-more winning streak into the Midsummer Classic, coming just one game shy of the 10-game winning streak the 2025 team carried into the break. 

As noted by Gordo of the Play Tessie Podcast, the Red Sox have gone on these stretches in each of the last four seasons, dating back to 2023 

“The key is now… part two is we gotta be ready to go when the second part of the season starts,” Tracy said. 

Being ready to go out of the break has been a problem for those Red Sox teams in years past, as noted by Gordo, the team has been unable to carry their momentum out of the break. 

While the team has done an admirable job of clawing its way back into contention, it’ll enter a crucial 17-game sprint heading into the Aug. 3 trade deadline. A losing stretch could quickly take them back out of contention and leave them looking like deadline sellers rather than one of the best comeback stories of the season. 

The Red Sox will look to kick off the unofficial second half on a high note when they return home to take on the AL-leading Tampa Bay Rays in a Friday doubleheader at Fenway Park. 

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