This is a completely different Red Sox team than the one that fired Alex Cora in the spring. Under interim manager Chad Tracy, Boston went 21-4 in July -- a franchise record for winning percentage over a full month -- and Sunday's win extended an active streak that's seen them take series after series after series.
The Dodgers, meanwhile, are still the class of the National League on paper at 69-42, but this series exposed real cracks. Their bullpen has been shaky since a scoreless run back in May came to an end, and it showed again this weekend. Dalton Rushing got scratched from Sunday's lineup with arm irritation, thinning out an already banged-up group behind the plate with Will Smith still on the 60-day IL.
Boston isn't exactly whole either -- Roman Anthony, Triston Casas, Trevor Story and Marcelo Mayer are all out, and the rotation is missing Garrett Crochet, Tanner Houck, Johan Oviedo and Kutter Crawford. That the Red Sox are still steamrolling opponents with that many key names sidelined says plenty about the depth Tracy's found a way to lean on.
Boston piled up runs in bunches -- a pair in the first, three in the third, two more in the eighth -- while the Dodgers never found the big answer, managing just one scoring inning after the third. It's the kind of sweep that turns a road trip into a statement, and right now nobody in baseball wants to see the Red Sox on the schedule.