Sean McAdam: Red Sox, for second weekend in a row, have momentum. This time, they need to maintain it
· Yahoo Sports
ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Red Sox have been here before.
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Only a week ago, they finished off a sweep of the rival New York Yankees, injecting some life into their fast-fading playoff hopes and invigorating the fan base.
But just as quickly, they squandered it. After winning the opener of their next series with Washington, the Sox were blown out in their next two contests, erasing the good will they had just finished building.
This weekend saw another sweep, albeit against a far less talented opponent, the Los Angeles Angels. Still the Red Sox will take their wins wherever they can find them.
The trick now is to maintain the momentum when this three-city, nine-game road trip continues Tuesday in Chicago. They can ill-afford any steps backward at this point in the season.
“We’re fighting for wins right now,” said interim manager Chad Tracy. “So every win you can get is important. You go into the road trip, knowing you have a nine-game kind of sprint to the All-Star break and you feel like we’ve got to win some games on this trip to get to the end of it and feel (good). So this is a good start.
“We’ve got six more. We won the first three. We got off to a really good start and we have to try to continue that.”
The quality of the opposition aside, the Red Sox acquitted themselves well here all weekend. They got two quality starts in the first two games, and then when Ranger Suarez had to leave in the third inning following a strained adductor, the bullpen took over.
From the final out in the third through the bottom of the seventh, Red Sox relievers didn’t allow so much as a hit. The Angels managed a solo run off Justin Slaten in the eighth and another off closer Aroldis Chpaman in the ninth, but by then, the outcome was assured.
They also got another jolt from slugger Willson Contreras, who, for the second night in a row, contributed a three-run homer in the early innings to ignite the offense.
Contreras, who reached the 20-homer plateau that many forecast a Red Sox hitter would not reach this season, has been the team offensive bellwether all season and this weekend was no different.
But there’s also this harsh reality: Contreras may have played his final game for the Red Sox in the first half Sunday night. He’s awaiting word on his appeal of a seven-game suspension handed down Thursday and that case could be adjudicated either Monday or Tuesday.
Even if Contreras gets a game reduced, the Sox have only six games left before the break.
All weekend, Contreras seemed intent on making his mark while he still could. In addition to his big blasts which keyed the final two wins here, he also sparkled in the field, including an impressive stretch to gather a throw from third baseman Caleb Durbin to record the first out in the ninth Sunday night.
As Tracy observed, the Red Sox have also done a better job with their offense over the last couple of weeks — scoring early to provide support for their own starters while successfully getting into the weaker, middle relief options of opponents’ bullpens.
As the most surprising team in the American League, the White Sox will offer a challenge in Chicago. They have crafted the best home mark in the league and their confidence seems to grow almost daily — always key for a young team.
The Red Sox can’t worry about their opponents, however. They have to maintain what they’ve been doing.
Chief among their own concerns: a suddenly injury-plagued rotation that is springing leaks at the worst possible time.
“I think overall, this is the complete package,” pronounced Tracy in assessing the Red Sox’ recent stretch. “The offense we’re getting now, we’re scoring runs early, we’re scoring runs on starters, giving our starters a chance to pitch with leads. We’re getting games into the back end of the bullpen. Just the overall quality of the at-bats, the defense is good. We’re playing good baseball and we have to continue to do that.”
Or else this weekend’s wins will have been wasted, not unlike the ones from a week ago.
More Red Sox coverage
- Red Sox, Ranger Suarez can only wait and hope on pitcher’s injury
- Red Sox reactions: Series sweep marred by starter’s injury
- Red Sox’ Ranger Suarez leaves game with injury
- Red Sox injuries: Roman Anthony, Connelly Early set for second opinions; Triston Casas suffers another setback
- Red Sox’ Anthony Seigler continues to earn trust of manager, more playing time
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