Summary of the Red Sox’s Postseason

By Mike Shea – Copy Editor

The Red Sox ended their season run with a loss to the Houston Astros 4-2 in the American League Championship Series. However, this was considered a great season for the Red Sox. 

The Red Sox started their playoff run with an American League wild card game against their rivals the New York Yankees. This game was a win or go home situation and the Red Sox defeated the Yankees 6-2.

The Red Sox then advanced to the division series against the Tampa Bay Rays. It was a good matchup for the Red Sox as the Rays where the 1 seed, but the Red Sox went to defeat the Rays 3-1. 

The Red Sox then went on to face the Houston Astros in the ALCS series. There were only 4 teams left in the playoffs at this point. Even though they did lose, it was a hard-fought series with the Red Sox not even expected to be there. 

The Red Sox came into the playoffs as the 5 seed. They were not expected to beat the Yankees let alone the Rays. Here are some of the players that made the Red exceed the season’s expectations.

The Red Sox’s outfielder Kiké Hernandez was amazing during the postseason run. Hernandez was regarded as the best player in the playoffs of any team because he was crushing the ball. He went into the Astros series with a .600 batting average which is unheard of to any player. If a player hits around a .400 batting average he is doing amazing so this comparison to .600 is ridiculous. 

Another Red Sox player that really developed this postseason was Rafael Devers. Devers is a 24-year-old 3rd baseman who is considered one of the building blocks for the future of the Red Sox. Devers had 11 hits and 12 RBIs which was a huge contributing factor to their offense. 

            The Red Sox did not just rely on the offense for the playoffs. Nathan Eovaldi is a pitcher for the Red Sox who also had a great year. Eovaldi struck out 16 batters in 10 ⅓ innings. During this time, he led the league in strikeouts in the postseason. 

            This season was also different because this season their Coach Alex Cora returned after him and the team parted ways last year. Cora was the coach of the Red Sox two years prior and won a World Series with the Red Sox in 2018. The reason he left the team was because he was part of a scandal in that in 2017 the Astros won the World Series but afterwards it was found out that they were cheating by stealing signs. Cora was the bench coach during this scandal and the Red Sox did not want to be a part of the problem. 

            The Red Sox unfortunately lost the ALCS, but they did have an amazing season. All three players mentioned as back on the team next year and will be exciting to watch the Red Sox do great things next year.