Sox hoping to reignite flame for stretch run

This story was excerpted from Ian Browne's Red Sox Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

BOSTON -- After they enjoy a much-needed day off on Thursday, the reeling Red Sox will take the field at Fenway Park on Friday night against the White Sox as something they haven’t been since June 14 -- a .500 team.

As in 70-70 with 22 games left in the season and 5 1/2 games behind the Royals and the Twins in the American League Wild Card standings.

For weeks, manager Alex Cora and his young team spoke excitedly about the chance to play meaningful games in September. They earned that enthusiasm by going 30-19 from May 19 through the All-Star break.

But leaks have sprung. After a 1-5 road trip that ended with five consecutive losses and hardly any offense, the Sox are teetering and can no longer wait to get hot.

It needs to start Friday against the 32-109 White Sox and last for weeks. And even that might not be enough. FanGraphs gives Boston an 8.3 percent chance of making the playoffs.

Cora didn’t pull any punches when asked about the last five days of the trip.

“It sucked, man. It was tough,” Cora said. “We went to Detroit 3 1/2 back, and now, we’re 5 1/2 back. We’re playing .500 baseball. Right now, we’re just an average team. We’ve got to show up on Friday and be better. Right now, it’s a huge homestand, this one coming up.”

In truth, Boston is fortunate to be as close as it is in the standings.

The Royals and Twins going cold at the same time -- all three teams have lost seven out of 10 -- has given Boston a glimmer of hope.

With the Twins and Royals playing a three-game series starting Friday, a best-case scenario would include the Red Sox sweeping the White Sox (not that hard to fathom), and a sweep by either Minnesota or Kansas City (much less likely).

In that event, Boston would be just 2 1/2 games behind the team that got swept when the Orioles come to town on Monday. But Cora knows there is no point in scoreboard watching due to the way things have been going.

“Talking about the Royals and the Twins and everybody else, it doesn’t matter,” Cora said. “We’re playing .500 baseball.”

After finishing 78-84 and in fifth place in each of the past two seasons, it would be a confidence boost for the Red Sox to get back above .500 and stay there for the rest of 2024. Finishing below .500 for a third straight season would be a letdown for a team that felt it was on the rise.

The Rays are suddenly just a half-game behind Boston in the AL East, and the last-place Blue Jays are 3 1/2 games behind the third-place Red Sox.

A season that at times felt like it would be a leap forward can still be one.

But it would entail the revival of an offense that has been in a near-team-wide slump and considerable improvement from the bullpen that has been the worst in the Majors since the All-Star break.