Rewind to mid-May and this Red Sox team was a punchline. A .500 club at best, tarps half-covering the seats, trade deadline sellers in waiting. Willson Contreras' name was floating in rumors, not headlines. Fast forward to this week and Boston just ran its winning streak to 13 games straight, tied for the second-longest in franchise history behind only the 1946 club's 15-gamer, and their longest since 1948.
The Red Sox just play winning baseball
That clip pretty much sums up the last month. Over their last 21-5 stretch, the Sox have bulldozed anyone in front of them, sweeping the Rays in a 4-game set, sweeping the Yankees, and taking 3 straight from the White Sox. This isn't one hot week. It's a full-blown identity change for a team that was supposed to be selling off parts by now.
Contreras has been the engine of the turnaround, and the timing could not be better for Boston. The catcher has a no-trade clause and made it clear around the All-Star break that he wants to finish his career in Boston, telling the front office he'd trade something just to stay. He's in the middle of a career year at 34, and it showed again this weekend.
WILYER
The exclamation point came Sunday: Boston beat Tampa Bay 6-1 behind another Contreras homer and 6 strong innings from Sonny Gray, capping the sweep and locking in win number 13. Dave Portnoy, who's been counting every single one out loud, wasn't holding back.
Thank you to the Red Sox for demolishing the Rays so I can watch World Cup final in peace. Bakers Dozen! 13 in a row! 🧹🧹🧹🧹🧹 Demolished the Rays We may win the division by 20 games! #dirtywater #162er
What makes this stretch wild isn't just the streak number, it's where it's pulling Boston from. A roster that looked like a deadline seller 2 weeks ago now looks like a buyer, sitting in a tie for the American League's final Wild Card spot. That's the whiplash Barstool Baseball is leaning into, framing a team that was left for dead as suddenly the hottest thing in the sport.
13 Wins In A Row And Dead in the Water No More: The Shocking And Improbable Rise Of The "Left For Dead" 2026 Boston Red Sox @MikeMutnansky
The trade deadline is right around the corner, and 13 straight changes everything about how Boston approaches it. A team buried for 3 months doesn't usually get to flip the script this hard this fast, and now the front office has to decide whether to lean all the way into a playoff push instead of a fire sale. Whether the Sox can keep this going against tougher competition is the next question, but for now, Fenway hasn't felt like this in almost 80 years.