Red Sox Week in Review: Holding Steady Against Good Competition

[Maddie Landis]

Weekly Snapshot

Record Last Week: 3-3 (Overall 65-54)

Runs Scored Last Week: 33

Runs Surrendered Last Week: 27

Standings

2nd in the AL East

4.0 GB 1st Place

Currently hold the 2nd WC Spot

Transactions

8/5/25: Red Sox recalled Isaiah Campbell from Triple-A Worcester

8/5/25: Red Sox designated Jorge Alcala for assignment

8/6/25: Red Sox signed free agent Jose Alexandra to a minor league contract

8/6/25: St. Louis Cardinals claimed Jorge Alcala off waivers from the Red Sox

8/8/25: Red Sox claimed Ali Sanchez off waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays

Scores

Game 114 (8/4) | KC 5, BOS 8

Game 115 (8/5) | KC 2, BOS 6

Game 116 (8/6) | KC 7, BOS 3

Game 117 (8/8) | BOS 10, SD 2

Game 118 (8/9) | BOS 4, SD 5

Game 119 (8/10) | BOS 2, SD 6

TL;DR Breakdown/Highlights

Royals series: The Red Sox offense immediately hit the ground running in game one. They scored five runs off the newly acquired Royals starter Bailey Falter in the first inning. Rob Refsynder drove in two runs via a single, and Jarren Duran demolished a three-run home run (456 ft) to center field, the farthest home run hit at Fenway this year. Brayan Bello threw his 12th quality start of the season. In the eighth inning, Jorge Alcala almost blew the lead, but Justin Wilson and Garrett Whitlock prevented the Royals' offense from gaining additional ground.

Tuesday night, Garrett Crochet took the mound. Need I say more? The team only scored two runs off the Royals’ starter Ryan Bergert. However, they rattled the Royals’ relievers, Angel Zerpa and former Red Sox John Schreiber. The opponent’s defense didn’t do much to help their pitchers.

The Red Sox’s crown jewel of the 2025 Trade Deadline, Dustin May, made his long-awaited debut. On paper, his outing was so-so; he only pitched 3 2/3 innings and yielded three earned runs. If you dive deeper into his metrics, he recorded 11 whiffs and posted a 34% CSW%. Unfortunately, May got behind in the count often. By the bottom of the third inning, he had clocked 91 pitches, so he was pulled early. After scoring two runs in the first inning, the Red Sox’s offense floundered. Jordan Hicks and Isaiah Campbell gave up four runs in relief to solidify the Royals’ lead.

Padres series: On Friday night, the Red Sox faced their former friend, Nick Pivetta. While the top of the order didn’t contribute much, the team’s underperforming players came through and delivered. Masataka Yoshida and Connor Wong each drove in three runs. Walker Buehler tossed a scoreless, quality start. I don’t want to swamp this article with several videos, so check out the highlights from the game on the Red Sox’s YouTube.

Games 2 and 3 were less exciting. Lucas Giolito’s performance was below par (or perhaps he was overperforming?). He gave up four earned runs in 4 2/3 innings. two of San Diego’s runs were issued freely via bases-loaded walks in the bottom of the fifth. Meanwhile, former friend Xander  Bogaerts went 2-4 with an RBI single and a solo home run. Game 2 was dragged into extra innings. David Hamilton pinch-hit for Masataka Yoshida at the top of the 10th. During the Padres series, Yoshida posted a .500 average and 1.444 OPS with 267 wRC+. Yes, speed is important in extra innings. Instead of benching the team’s hottest hitter over the weekend for an underperforming (.174/.265/.492 slash line) defense-first bench bat, maybe wait until the former gets on base? Unsurprisingly, Hamilton struck out on a foul bunt, and the team’s subsequent bats went into hibernation. Ramón Laureano hit a walk-off single to secure the Padres’ win. 

Brayan Bello took the bump in Game 3. Like Giolito, he wasn’t on his A-game and yielded 5 earned runs in 5 2/3 innings. The Red Sox’s offensive hibernation carried into Sunday’s game. At the top of the seventh, they had the opportunity to score with the bases loaded, but Ceddanne Rafaela, Abraham Toro, and Roman Anthony struck out. 

The Red Sox play the Astros this coming week. Alex Bregman returns to Houston for the first time since his offseason departure. Over the weekend, the Red Sox take on the better-than-expected Marlins at Fenway.

Random Stats

• The Red Sox are 1-9 in extra innings games on the road this year.
• As previously mentioned, Masataka Yoshida is heating up. His average is up to .258, and OPS is at .707 with 89 wRC+.
• Skipper Alex Cora is allowing him more opportunities to face lefties, and Abreu’s stats are trending positively. Since July 5, Wilyer Abreu is slashing .250/.294/.375 with 80 wRC+ against left-handed pitchers.
• The team’s catchers have been underperforming since the All-Star Break (July 18 to present):
  • Connor Wong: .207 BA, .560 OPS, 15.6% strikeout rate with 47 wRC+
  • Carlos Narváez: .111 BA, .393 OPS, 29.2% strikeout rate with -2 wRC+

Website Highlights

• Please welcome Talk Sox's new writer, Jordan Leandre!
• Walker Buehler’s Last Stand with the Red Sox is Here by Jordan Leandre 
• Roman Anthony Extension: How Do Contracts for Other Young MLB Stars Compare? by Braden Ramsey
• Craig Breslow Has Won Over the Red Sox Veterans in the Clubhouse by Alex Mayes
• Romy González Has Evolved Into Rob Refsnyder 2.0 by Brandon Glick
• The Gamble of Signing Young Players to Long Contracts and Why Red Sox Fans Shouldn't Worry About Roman Anthony by Nick John

Looking Ahead

August 11th: Red Sox (Crochet) @ Astros (Javier): 8:10 pm EDT

August 12th: Red Sox (May) @ Astros (Arrighetti): 8:10 pm EDT

August 13th: Red Sox (Buehler) @ Astros (Brown): 7:10 pm EDT

August 15th: Marlins vs Red Sox: 7:10 pm EDT

August 16th: Marlins vs Red Sox: 4:10 pm EDT

August 17th: Marlins vs Red Sox: 1:35 pm EDT

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[harmony]

The article transposes the stats for Carlos Narvaez and Connor Wong since the All Star Break.

Narvaez had the unusual negative 2 wRC+.