Red Sox Week in Review: Change is the Only Constant

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Boston Red Sox Weekly Snapshot

Record Last Week: 3-4

Runs Scored Last Week: 36

Runs Surrendered Last Week: 32

Standings:

5th in AL East

7.5 GB First Place

Transactions:

04/21/26: Red Sox recalled LHP Tyler Samaniego from Worcester Red Sox.

04/21/26: Red Sox placed RHP Sonny Gray on the 15-day injured list. Right hamstring strain.

04/22/26: Red Sox selected the contract of LHP Eduardo Rivera from Worcester Red Sox.

04/22/26: Red Sox optioned RHP Jack Anderson to Worcester Red Sox.

04/22/26: Red Sox transferred 1B Triston Casas from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day injured list. Recovery from left patellar tendon repair.

04/23/26: Red Sox optioned LHP Eduardo Rivera to Worcester Red Sox.

04/23/26: Red Sox recalled LHP Payton Tolle from Worcester Red Sox.

Scores:

Game 22 (4/20): BOS 8, DET 6

Game 23 (4/21): BOS 0, NYY 4

Game 24 (4/22): BOS 1, NYY 4

Game 25 (4/23): BOS 2, NYY 4

Game 25 (4/24): BOS 3, BAL 10

Game 26 (4/25): BOS 17, BAL 1

Game 27 (4/26): BOS 5, BAL 3

Series Breakdown/Highlights

Yankees Series: Not a lot went right during the first homestand against the Yankees. The offense looked listless and failed to show up for the first two games. At least in the third game, things started to seem different. The team recalled Payton Tolle to make the start in the final game of the homestand, pushing back both Brayan Bello and Garrett Crochet’s next scheduled starts, and he lit Fenway Park on fire. He began the game with five straight strikeouts and went on to strikeout 11 on the night while surrendering only one walk and one earned run on a Jazz Chisholm home run. He induced 18 whiffs, thanks in large part to his arsenal of high-velocity fastballs and his power curve He pitched his way into a couple of jams, and then turned right around and pitched his way back out of them. It was an absolute shame that the bullpen let him down in his first game this season, but if he keeps pitching like he did against the Yankees, then he’s going to have ample opportunities to earn wins for the Red Sox. Carlos Narvaez also took Cam Schlittler deep over the Green Monster for his first home run of the season.

Orioles Series: This series was completely boring and offered no newsworthy, drastic changes to the coaching staff. Game one started off much like the entire Yankees series—just uninspired baseball from the entire team. Brayan Bello looked like he has for much of 2026—lost on the mound. His frustrations grew with each pitch and he let it show on his face for much of his outing. The Orioles ran out of fireworks due to the amount of home runs they hit in the game. That’s never a good thing when you’re the visiting club. Game two thankfully, sang a much different tune. Garrett Crochet looked every bit of the ace that the Red Sox expected him to be again this season. He tossed 90 pitches over six innings with 57 of them going for strikes. He allowed three hits, zero runs, two walks, seven strikeouts, and had 12 whiffs. He topped out at 97.5 MPH and almost doubled the use of his four-seam fastball, kicking it up to 59% of the time from 28.3% in prior outings. Andruw Monasterio hit a grand slam, Caleb Durbin got his first home run in a Red Sox uniform, and Willson Contreras looked like a true middle-of-the-order slugger.

Shockingly, following that contest, the team parted ways with manager Alex Cora, hitting coach Pete Fatse, bench coach Ramon Vazquez, game manager Jason Varitek, and hitting instructor Dillon Lawson. At least they went out with a blowout win.

In game three, the Red Sox became demons on the basepaths under the new management style of interim manager Chad Tracy, swiping four bags. Contreras continued his hot streak and Monasterio was again a spark in the lineup. Arguably most impressive, though, was Ceddanne Rafaela throughout the entire series. He’s shown a new plate approach that is paying dividends for him. He’s quickly becoming a star caliber player right in front of our eyes and it’s been incredible to witness. Connelly Early turned in his best start of the season in the series finale, tossing 6 ⅔ innings, allowing four hits, two earned runs, one walk, and four strikeouts.