The Boston Red Sox enter Thursday’s off day at 22-27 and in third place in the American League East, riding high off a three-game sweep of the Kansas City Royals. After nearly two months of being one of the worst offenses in baseball, are the Red Sox slowly starting to turn a corner? 

Boston is coming off a road trip to Atlanta and Kansas City in which they finished 4-2 and put up surprisingly solid numbers at the plate. In the six games since the start of that Braves series, the Red Sox offense ranks third in batting average (.273), seventh in slugging percentage (.445), and 12th in on-base percentage (.323). 

However, they are lagging behind in the runs-scored department, scoring 20 in six games, which is the eighth-fewest in baseball during that stretch. That’s thanks in part to the lack of a true home run hitter in the heart of the order; the Boston offense hit just five home runs in six games, which ranked tied for 20th in baseball. The team has also struggled mightily with runners in scoring position, hitting just .200 on the road trip. 

While the lack of a home run hitter in the heart of the lineup isn’t a surprise, the struggles with men in scoring position are. This was a team built to put the ball in play, and while they have recently done a good job of that, things have fallen apart when runners reach second base. Overall, the Red Sox offense ranks 23rd in batting average with men on base at .233 and 26th in baseball with just 135 RBI. 

Despite the struggles cashing in on their opportunities interim manager Chad Tracy is encouraged by what he’s seen from his offense. “There were things you were seeing with certain guys that had been struggling that made you feel like maybe it’s starting to turn a little bit,” Tracy told WEEI’s Rich Shertenlieb, Ken Laird, and Ted Johnson on Wednesday afternoon. “So I wouldn’t jump out to say ‘okay, we’re all the way good’, no, you’ve got to sustain this over a period of time, but we have seen over the last handful of games better signs,” he continued. 

It is not a coincidence that the Red Sox' sweep of the Royals coincided with a massive series from leadoff man Jarren Duran.  If the offense wants to sustain those better signs that Tracy is seeing, it’s going to have to start with the 29-year-old spark plug. 

Over the last two seasons, Duran has been a key factor in the Red Sox' winning. According to The Ringer’s Brian Barrett, Duran hit .329/.387/.574 in Boston wins in 2024, and .265/.345/.493 in 2025 wins. 

In today’s game, it’s incredibly tough to string together three or more hits in an inning, and thanks to the construction of the Red Sox roster, that’s what they have to do in order to consistently score runs. Duran’s ability to get on base and wreak havoc with his speed is a major advantage at the top of the order for the Boston offense. 

“When you're sitting atop the offense...if he starts going, it's no secret that's gonna help us go," Tracy said of Duran after Wednesday night’s win. 

Still, there are a lot of ‘if’s associated with the Red Sox offense. "If" the team can improve with runners in scoring position, "if" Duran can carry the momentum from the big series in Kansas City through the rest of the season, and "if" the Red Sox can improve at Fenway Park, where they’ve been one of the worst home offenses in baseball. 

They’ll get the first opportunity to answer some of those questions on Friday night when they open up a three-game set with the Minnesota Twins at Fenway Park. Payton Tolle will get the start for the Red Sox opposite fellow rookie left-hander Connor Prielipp. First pitch from Fenway set for 7:10 p.m. ET.  

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