Summer finally showed up at Fenway Park on Sunday, and so did the version of the Boston Red Sox fans have been waiting for. Boston handled the Tampa Bay Rays 6-1 to finish off a four-game sweep, pushing their winning streak to 13 games. The surge ties the second-longest run in club history and nudged the Sox above .500 for the first time this year. Sonny Gray spent the afternoon tiptoeing around baserunners, while Willson Contreras delivered the late haymaker that put this one to bed.
Strange start, tidy finish
The Rays drew first blood when Victor Mesa Jr. circled the bases on an inside-the-park home run that rattled around Fenway's Triangle, turning a deep drive into a sprinting highlight. Boston did not let that weird bounce linger for long. The Red Sox pulled even in the second, then turned the third inning into controlled chaos, plating three runs without the benefit of a hit.
It started with a passed ball, continued when Junior Caminero's throw on a fielder's choice clipped Wilyer Abreu, and wrapped with an RBI groundout from Romy Gonzalez. It was the kind of inning that makes pitchers mutter and scorekeepers double-check their notes, but it gave Boston the cushion it needed, as MLB.com detailed.
Gray keeps Boston rolling
On the mound, Sonny Gray was not spotless, but he was exactly what the Red Sox have been riding during this run. He allowed one run over six innings, stranding seven baserunners and logging his ninth straight quality start as the rotation continues to steady itself.
Willson Contreras then gave the crowd the swing it came to see, launching an opposite-field, two-run homer in the fifth inning. It was his 22nd of the season and the final shove that turned a tight game into a comfortable one. With 32,950 in the house, Boston improved its record to 50-48, according to The Boston Globe.
What this run means
This 13-game heater is not just a fun midseason blip. It ties the second-longest winning streak in Red Sox history and leaves Boston two victories short of the franchise record of 15, set in 1946. For a team that has seen just about everything at Fenway, matching a stretch from that year is no small feat, as the historical recap from SABR makes clear.
The tougher part of the schedule still looms, and the next couple of weeks will reveal whether this is a true turning point or just a July hot streak that fades. For now, though, the Red Sox are winning, Fenway is buzzing, and a season that looked flat a month ago suddenly has a pulse.
