The good part on that note is that Jarren Duran is a fine 1:1 replacement for Verdugo, if it comes to that, and the better note is that if Verdugo is healthy Duran should bat and play next to him, rather than in his place. The core 2-5 hitters are so good as to be almost unimpeachable, though Alex Verdugo’s sore back does scare me a little bit. There are reasons to worry on offense, too. It is a certainty that there will be rotation issues, and for those, we can only wait. Also there are some starters (named Nick Pivetta) who are pitching probably way over their heads right now, whereas none of them, now that Garrett Richards has righted the ship, are pitching poorly, per se. and the Sox are approaching six weeks right now. If nothing else, the injury bug seems destined to bite the team at some point soon, particularly in the rotation, where you’d never really presume six weeks of across-the-board good health for any set of starters on any team at any time. It’s acknowledging that the work left to be done is still a majority of the work and that, for their considerably early success, there are reasons to think things are about to get much tougher. This isn’t doom and gloom for doom and gloom’s sake. Over the Monster Podcasts Photo by Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty ImagesĪnd honestly. The 1.5 game lead aside, it seems more likely than not the Sox find themselves looking up at the division leader by the time the season-or May-is over. Given the rash of injuries that have plagued the Yanks so far, and the relatively good health that has blessed the Sox, what once looked like a potential Boston runaway to the division title looks considerably more muddled now. The Yankees started off horribly and find themselves a scant 1.5 back before they’ve played the Sox a single time. In both cases, the Yankees are still the runaway favorites.Īnd, it must be said, with good reason. FanGraphs is more optimistic, putting Boston at 50 percent for the postseason with an 87-win projection. Baseball Prospectus still has Boston finishing fourth in the division, with a record of 82-80, basically right where they were to start, with about a 20 percent chance of making the playoffs. There are reasons to think that the Sox might have tougher sledding going forward than they heretofore have had. The division race is only now getting started, and it could be the toughest one for any team in years. The Orioles are only 3 back besides, and just got a no-hitter. As of this morning, the Sox are 1.5 games ahead of the Yankees and Rays and two games ahead of the Blue Jays. Unfortunately for us, they don’t make the whole schedule out of April. After the pandemic and the Mookie Betts trade and the sorry 2020 Red Sox product, April 2021 showed, blissfully, that not all hope was lost. The traditional morning game on Patriots Day (April 18) will be against the Twins.No matter what happens from here on out, the good part is we’ll always have April.The Chicago series marks the first trip there for the Sox since 2012. Boston will face the Cubs at Wrigley Field in the weekend series leading to July 4, but will be back at Fenway for Independence Day against the Rays.Boston is 8-7 in 15 total games against Pittsburgh. In regular season play, the Red Sox have faced Cincinnati just 13 times before, with the Sox going 12-1. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, and Milwaukee Brewers, though there are also games against the NL East Atlanta Braves. That means some rare match-ups for the Sox against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, St. Interleague games in 2022 will pit the American League East against some National League Central rivals.The Yankees home opener on April 7 will be against the Red Sox.For Tampa Bay, it will be their first Opening Day at Boston since 2009. The Red Sox will open at home against the Rays on March 31 and finish on the road in Toronto on October 2. Here’s the Red Sox calendar, which you can tap on for a bigger, printable version. With still a whole of games left in the thrilling 2021 schedule, Major League Baseball today announced baseball’s full schedule for next season.
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