Wild Boston Red Sox Stat Issues Cause for Concern at MLB All-Star Break
By Joe Summers
It's hard to make the playoffs if you never beat the teams in your division, but the Boston Red Sox are challenging conventional wisdom by attempting to do just that.
With their loss today the Red Sox are now 0-10-1 in series vs the AL East this season.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) July 17, 2022
This is the first time Boston has gone without a series win against teams in their own division entering the All-Star Break. pic.twitter.com/dvj56pGuuZ
I've been in on the Red Sox as a value for a while now, but even I'll admit their margin of error is growing perilously thin and I'm concerned.
Sitting at 48-45, and two games back in the American League Wild Card race, the Red Sox are +1200 to win the AL Pennant and +3000 to win the World Series at WynnBET Sportsbook. Can they actually make a postseason run without achieving any success in the AL East?
Boston Red Sox Cause for Concern
With a pathetic 12-26 record against their AL East foes, Boston has some work to do in its division. 10 of those losses came by one run, so the Red Sox have been a bit unlucky, but their poor bullpen and mediocre defense have a lot to do with their misery in one-score games.
Their lineup is struggling of late, ranking 25th in OPS against right-handed pitchers over the last month, but they're 11th on the season so we can expect some positive regression there.
That being said, their rotation has a ton of question marks moving forward. Four starters are on the Injured List, and Chris Sale may be going back after potentially breaking his finger against the Yankees. None of their remaining starters are in the 29th percentile or better in expected ERA, and you can argue players like Nick Pivetta have overachieved.
"I have a question, what is going on with my Red Sox? Do I need to go into that clubhouse and shake them up or something?"
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 18, 2022
- @DavidOrtiz to Xander Bogaerts 😬 pic.twitter.com/9NPdpliRJM
They've had a difficult schedule to this point, but that's the nature of playing in the AL East. Tankathon's Strength of Schedule metric gives Boston the second-most difficult schedule moving forward and it's hard to imagine them making the postseason without overcoming their struggles in the division.
Boston's next four series come against the Blue Jays, Guardians, Brewers, and Astros, so we'll know a lot about the club over the next few weeks. I still believe in the Red Sox, but the case is getting harder to make with each passing day.
Follow all of Joe Summers' betting picks here.