The Boston Red Sox, a team that has been a staple throughout the history of Major League Baseball, clinched the playoffs yet again last Sunday, September 20th.
The Red Sox played the Tampa Bay Rays last weekend, and suffered a crushing defeat. However, the day can still be chalked up as a successful one all around. The Atlanta Braves defeated the Houston Astros, an American League rival of the Red Sox, in a close 4-2 victory.
The deafening blow was a three run home run in the sixth inning by Mike Yastrzemski that led the Astros in taking a 4-1 lead. Yastremski is the son of Red Sox Legend Carl Yastrzemski, who played a whopping 23 straight seasons for the Red Sox. In this game, the Atlanta Braves were also able to clinch the playoffs and secure their spot in the playoffs as well as clinching their division, the NL East.
Although they have not been as hot recently, the Red Sox went on multiple long winning streaks that boosted their record from the single worst team in the American League to a playoff team. At a point, they were well below .500 winning percentage, being fourteen games back in their division. Then, they tied a franchise record of fifteen straight games won and went on a 20-2 run in 22 consecutive games. They also went on a good number of smaller winning streaks in the heart of the summer, pushing their record to what it is today.
However, as stated earlier, they have not been as dominant in the later parts of August and early September. Hingham High School student and Red Sox fan Beckett Williams was quoted saying, “Ever since the end of their winning streak, the Sox give me little hope going into the playoffs.” Despite this opinion, many others have a good sense of hope and pride in their team, such as Hingham Junior Nate Kenniston, who said, “It’s amazing that they were able to turn their season around, and I have hope that they will make it far in the postseason.”
The Red Sox are set to play the New York Yankees on Tuesday in the American League Wild Card Series, an exciting rematch from last year’s Wild Card Series that is sure to be full of drama and epic moments.
