With the pitching staff hitting its stride and young bats heating up, Washington sets its sights on a strong showing against a Boston team still chasing consistency.
With back-to-back series wins, Washington is starting to create a little momentum, inching closer to the All-Star break. With tough series ahead and with a record of 37-50, the season could be over in Washington, but the emergence of CJ Abrams and James Wood has been a joy to watch. Going against the struggling Boston Red Sox, Washington could edge out yet another series win.
Sitting at 43-45, Boston has experienced quite the season. With high expectations heading into the season, fans have been disappointed with the organization and how the Devers situation was handled. Injuries have also hurt their season, and time will tell if Boston can overcome these challenges and make the postseason in 2025.
Let’s dive into the Boston Red Sox’s performance this season.
TEAM STATS
OFFENSE
Once led by Rafael Devers, the offense has been pitiful since Devers was shipped to San Francisco. Jarren Duran has taken a step back this season, but Wilyer Abreu has stepped up as the primary offensive anchor since Alex Bregman’s injury. As a whole, this season, Boston’s offensive rankings are solid, batting .251 (12th), scored 421 runs (6th), hit 107 home runs (10th), and are slugging .422 (6th). Youngsters like Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer have also joined the fold
PITCHING
Boston acquired Garrett Crochet this offseason, and he has proved to be one of the best pitchers in all of baseball. With a 2.34 ERA, he is putting himself into Cy Young conversations. However, Boston’s arms have proven to be disappointing outside of Crochet. As a team, Boston has a 4.01 ERA (19th), allowed 87 home runs (7th), a 1.33 WHIP (21st), and teams are batting .248 against them (20th).
GAME ONE – Friday, 11:05 EDT
WAS: RHP Michael Soroka (3-5) – 11 G, 4.70 ERA, 64 SO, 1.03 WHIP, 85 ERA+
BOS: RHP Lucas Giolito (4-1) – 11 G, 3.99 ERA, 51 SO, 1.33 WHIP, 105 ERA+
Soroka is coming off a solid stretch for Washington. In his last two starts, Soroka has combined for fifteen strikeouts and has allowed just four total runs. Providing quality starts down the stretch could make him a wanted pitcher through the trade deadline. In his last start against the Los Angeles Angels, Soroka threw six innings and allowed just two hits and one run while striking out five batters.
Giolito, the former National has been bombarded with injuries the past two seasons. He has bounced back in a big way this season, and his recent stretch has proved to be quite good. In his last seven starts, Giolito has a 2.35 ERA and has given up just ten runs in that stretch. In his last start, Giolito went seven innings of six hits, zero runs baseball against the division rival Toronto Blue Jays.
GAME TWO – Saturday, 4:05 EDT
WAS: LHP Mitchell Parker (5-8) – 17 G, 4.63 ERA, 62 SO, 1.35 WHIP, 86 ERA+
BOS: RHP Walker Buehler (5-6) – 14 G, 6.45 ERA, 59 SO, 1.58 WHIP, 65 ERA+
Things were going downhill quickly for Mitchell Parker until this most recent stretch of games. In his last five games, outside of a bad start against the Miami Marlins, Parker has shown production like he was producing at the beginning of the season. In his last start, Parker threw a quality start, throwing five innings and allowing six hits and three runs in a win against the Angels.
Coming off a save to win the World Series, Buehler becomes a make-or-break candidate for 2025. Buehler has been horrid recently, posting a 9.29 ERA in his last seven games. In his last start, he went four innings and allowed four runs in a loss to the division rival Toronto Blue Jays.
GAME THREE – Sunday, 1:35 EDT
WAS: TBD
BOS: LHP Garrett Crochet (8-4) – 18 G, 2.34 ERA, 144 SO, 1.04 WHIP, 179 ERA+
Garrett Crochet was acquired by the Boston Red Sox, having to give up top draft capital to do so. However, this has been the MVP for the Boston Red Sox this season, putting together a Cy Young season. However, in his last start, he struggled, giving up eight hits and five runs in a win against the Cincinnati Reds.
CONCLUSION
Washington can create more momentum, and with veterans performing well, they can find a home for them at the trade deadline. This has turned into a season of growth and development, so Washington should just try and continue this process and push for a winning season in 2026. But for now, enjoy the CJ Abrams, James Wood, and MacKenzie Gore show.