Red Sox Weekly Report

Zak Drapeau
Jul 30, 2025
5 min read

by Zak Drapeau 7/30/2025 FansOnlySportz

Week in Review

After a terrible first week after the All-Star break, the Red Sox do much better this week. With a 3-game home series against the Dodgers that saw the Red Sox take 2, the biggest takeaway was the bats seemingly coming back to form. The first week of the second half saw a slashline of .190/.259/.327 so they couldn't have gotten much worse but instead they went on to bat .255/.314/.460 while averaging over 4 runs a game.

In a season where we've seen such a rollercoaster of weeks where if the bats were good, the pitching wasn't and vice versa, this week saw some continuity. Neither the bats or the pitching were great but they were both average and at times a little better than average.

In the Dodgers series, the Red Sox would take the series 2-1 but the scoring would be even at 10-10. The Starting Pitchers were Bello, Crochet and Buehler in succession and none of them pitched a gem, but none gave up 4 or more runs either. Every game was a tight one and the bullpen would actually be the heroes in the 2 wins of the series, giving up 0 runs in 7.1 innings of work. Shohei Ohtani would have the moment of the series when he took Garrett Crochet yard but who had the last laugh?

In the first 2 games of the current Twins series in Minnesota, the bats have been ever better and if not for a VERY POORLY timed Rain Delay, the Sox would be up 2-0. Instead each teams have taken 1 game a piece including last night's slugfest, with the titular game 3 happening tonight.

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3 Positives of the Week

The First Positive of the Week has to go to the team's fielding. Another rollercoaster statistic, the team has averaged around 2 errors and 2.5 unearned runs per week over the last two months but went the first 4 games of this week without a single miscue. Unfortunately they couldn't finish strong with Trevor Story and Cedanne Rafaela both committing fielding errors in last night's win.

Speaking of last night's win, the Second Positive of the Week has to be the return of the bats. In particular, Roman Anthony, Alex Bregman and Jarren Duran have been raking this week with OPS's all above 1.1. Of the 22 runs scored this week the trio would bat-in 14 of them. Anthony and Bregman have been hot for weeks now but it has been terrific to see Duran return to the hot form we saw last season especially in the midst of the trade rumors he's faced.

The Third Positive of the Week is going to be the Sox maintaining their spot in the AL East. Currently in 3rd place, 5.0 games behind the Blue Jays in 1st, the Sox are only 1.0 game away from the 2nd place Yankees who themselves have been in a slump as of late. With 3 of their next 4 series against top teams in the league, the Sox keeping pace with the Yankees and Blue Jays now will be extremely beneficial as they likely lose more than a few over the next 2 weeks.

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3 Negatives of the Week

The EASILY First Negative of the Week has to be the cooled bats of some of the team's biggest stars, Cedanne Rafaela, Carlos Narvaez and Trevor Story. Respectively having OPS's of .509, .655 and .426, these three had an awful start to the week and even a great finale in last night's win from all of them couldn't make up for it. Last night's game could be the catalyst for these 3 to get back to form hopefully in time for the Houston series.

The Second Negative of the Week has to be the injury bug. Impactful starters Marcelo Mayer and Hunter Dobbins have both been put on the IL in two spots where the Red Sox are not particularly deep. While Mayer's Wrist Sprain should only keep him out for a little over a week, Dobbins' injury is much more serious as he'll likely be out for the rest of the season with a Torn ACL. With David Hamilton taking Mayer's spot at 2B and Richard Fitts permanently becoming a part of the Starting Rotation in light of Dobbins, both of the team's weakest areas just got thinner.

The Third Negative of the Week is going to be a lack of urgency before the Trade Deadline. After I was loudly spelling for the likes of Duran, Hamilton and Buehler to be traded in hopes for a secondary-Ace type of pitcher, the Sox have done nothing with the Deadline being tomorrow. Will they trade away a bullpen piece for a backup 2B? Most likely but it seems all of the rumors of a major, season-changing trade were all smoke. For a team that has playoff potential this season, management seems happy to just phone it in and likely say, "Aw man, we'll get 'em next year guys!" After they finish the season 91-71 and miss a Wild Card Spot.

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Looking to the Future

For the next week, the final game in Minnesota will take place tonight, followed by a crucial home series against the Astros and finally the first two games of an away-Kansas City series.

To finish the Twins-series, Brayan Bello will take the mound against Zebby Matthews in a favorable matchup for the Sox. Matthews has pretty good performances at home but is inconsistent at best especially with how the Sox bats have perked up.

The series with the 'Stros will be the big picture this week and thankfully will take place at Fenway. Luckily for the Red Sox, the Astros are just coming off of a horrendous streak of 6 games against the Athletics and Nationals all at home. Before a win last night, the Astros dropped 5-straight while being outscored of 34-8. In a funk similar to the Red Sox of last week, the bats and pitching have been terrible right in time for the Red Sox series, giving our boys that much more hope.

For the series, Crochet, Buehler and Fitts will take the mound against the Astros' Hunter Brown, (2.54) Colton Gordon, (4.74) and Framber Valdez (2.62). Starting with one of the best matchups you'll see all season, Crochet vs Brown should be a pure pitching duel with both pitchers being within the league's Top-5 in ERA. For Game 2, Walker Buehler vs Colton Gordon could make for a very eventful score line that is to unpredictable to call. In Game 3, Richard Fitts will take the mound against Framber Valdez that will easily have the Astros as the favorites. For Fitts, going more than 4 innings should be his main priority with the bullpen likely depleted by Sunday.

From Fenway to Kansas City, the start of that series should see Giolito and Bello taking the mound against Noah Cameron and Seth Lugo in two pretty even matchups. With the Royals being a .500 team since the break, their advantage has been their bats, averaging just under 6 runs a game. Giolito and Bello have been inconsistent lately but will need to be on their games to cool the hot bats in Kansas City.

Overall, I expect the Sox to take tonight's game in Minnesota. I then expect them to lose the Astros' series 1-2 and then split the series in Kansas City. A 2-3 record for next week may not be what you're looking for but with Boston's current form it may be a positive week.

What I'll be looking for is the pitching to stand up and take control this week. Our bats have been going upwards so It's time for the Starting Rotation to set the tone. Crochet is the Ace and the pitcher that others follow so his matchup on Friday Night Baseball in the first of the Astros' series will be the most important.

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