Red Sox Week in Review: Can They Just Play Road Games?

[Alex Mayes]

Boston Red Sox Weekly Snapshot

Record Last Week: 2-4

Runs Scored Last Week: 16

Runs Surrendered Last Week: 19

Standings:

5th in AL East

14.5 GB First Place

Transactions:

06/16/26: Boston Red Sox sent 1B Romy Gonzalez on a rehab assignment to Portland Sea Dogs.

06/17/26: Boston Red Sox sent LHP Patrick Sandoval on a rehab assignment to Portland Sea Dogs.

06/20/26: Boston Red Sox recalled 2B Anthony Seigler from Worcester Red Sox.

06/20/26: Boston Red Sox placed 2B Isiah Kiner-Falefa on the 10-day injured list retroactive to June 19, 2026. Left forearm inflammation.

Scores:

Game 70: BOS 1, TOR 6

Game 71: BOS 0, TOR 3

Game 72: BOS 3, TOR 4

Game 73: BOS 6, SEA 2

Game 74: BOS 5, SEA 1

Game 75: BOS 1, SEA 3

Series Breakdown/Highlights

Blue Jays Series: My mother always told me if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all. Unfortunately, we have to talk about this putrid series. In game one, Payton Tolle wasn’t awful, but he wasn’t great. He tossed five innings of three run baseball while striking out six and issuing two walks. He seems to have hit a bit of a wall in June, pitching his way to a 3.71 ERA for the month so far. That’s not bad, but it’s a full earned run more than what he had been bringing to the table earlier in the season. Still, he’s a rookie and he’s finding his footing at the MLB level. He’s going to be a stud for this team for years to come. Offensively, this game was a joke. The Red Sox had eight hits but could only plate one run on a garbage time Jarren Duran home run.

In game two, it was more of the same. The team had seven hits but was unable to plate any runs, despite the fact that they had ducks in the pond seemingly every inning. Jake Bennett’s line looks worse than his performance on the field, but he did give up two of Toronto’s two earned runs. Maybe the lone bright spot was that Tyron Guerrero continues to light up the radar gun and is likely jumping up trade boards across the league.

Game three seems like it was close but if you watched it, it wasn’t. The wind wreaked havoc at Fenway Park during the entire time. Sonny Gray tossed seven innings of three-run baseball while striking out four. Somehow, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Caleb Durbin came through to tie the game in the eighth inning, but defensive miscues extended the top of the ninth to allow the Jays to score and ultimately charged Aroldis Chapman with the loss. The bottom of the ninth was typical Red Sox baseball — it was over in five pitches. Not even five pitches from top-tier closer Louis Varland; five pitches from Mason Fluharty. 

Mariners Series: Much like the rest of the season, the Red Sox played better on the road than they did at home. The pitching matchups didn’t favor the Sox; they were seeing the top of the Mariners’ rotation, but they had mostly patient at-bats that made the multiple top arms of Seattle pay. In game one, Ranger Suarez carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning. The offense erupted for six runs and Caleb Durbin stayed hot with another homer. Greg Weissert looked solid but Ryan Watson allowed two earned runs. Marcelo Mayer was originally not in the starting lineup due to illness but was a last minute addition and provided three RBIs. Carlos Narvaez put some good swings on the ball in hopes of getting more playing time.

Game two saw Connelly Early start off shaky but he ended up striking out seven over six innings, allowing only one earned run. Wilyer Abreu got the party started for the Sox with a huge two-run homer while both Mayer and Durbin provided one RBI each. This game saw Ceddanne Rafaela get a much needed rest as the team gears up to head to the giant outfield of Coors Field to kick off next week. Guerrero was his usual flamethrowing self out of the bullpen, while Garrett Whitlock and Danny Coulombe both worked clean innings.

Unfortunately, game three didn’t complete the West Coast sweep. The offense managed just one run on a Nate Eaton second deck solo shot. It was Abreu’s turn for a rest day on Sunday, only his second one of the season. Tolle pitched his way into and out of a couple of jams, going six innings with two strike outs, two walks, and three earned runs. He was the victim of some defensive lapses though, and looked mostly solid throughout his start. Coulombe and Watson both pitched well to keep the game within reach out of the bullpen.

Website Highlights

Ranking Red Sox’s Best Closer Candidates if Aroldis Chapman is Traded by Ben Lofy

The Definitive Case for the Red Sox to Trade Jarren Duran by Alex Mayes

Ceddanne Rafaela is Succeeding by Breaking One of Hitting’s Most Basic Rules by Yirsandy Rodriguez

Looking Ahead

06/22/26: Red Sox (Jake Bennett) @ Rockies (Ryan Feltner): 8:40 PM EDT 

06/23/26: Red Sox (Sonny Gray) @ Rockies (Sean Sulivan): 8:40 PM EDT

06/24/26: Red Sox (Ranger Suarez) @ Rockies (Kyle Freeland) 3:10 PM EDT

06/25/26: Yankees @ Red Sox: 7:10 PM EDT

06/26/26: Yankees @ Red Sox: 7:10 PM EDT

06/27/26: Yankees @ Red Sox: 1:10 PM EDT

06/28/26: Yankees @ Red Sox: 7:20 PM EDT Sunday Night Baseball

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