The Red Sox rode a four-run seventh inning to a 7-6 victory over the Rays yesterday. The win brought Boston’s win streak to 12 games, which is tied for the third-longest winning streak in Red Sox history (h/t to Tom Caron of NESN for that stat). On July 2nd, the team was 37-48 and 6.5 games out of the AL Wild Card race, with five teams (including two AL East competitors) ahead of them in the standings. Now, the Sox have surged to a game over .500 and hold the last Wild Card spot.
1. Abreu homers twice in back-to-back games
Wilyer Abreu was one of two Boston hitters with two hits in yesterday’s contest, and both of his left the yard. He hit a solo shot in the bottom of the third off Tampa’s Ian Seymour and followed that with a go-ahead two-run blast in the seventh off Garrett Cleavinger. As noted by Marcos Grunfeld of El Emergente, Abreu is the first Red Sox hitter with at least two home runs in back-to-back games since Mookie Betts, who achieved the feat in May 2016. Abreu continues to have a solid season as Boston’s right fielder this year. His 117 wRC+ ranks second in the American League for qualifying players at that spot. He’s also head and shoulders above the rest of the league defensively with 17 Defensive Runs Saved.
2. Orioles outlast the Astros in 11
Baltimore isn’t quite at a 12-game streak, but they did win their sixth straight with a 4-2 victory over Houston in 11 innings. Entering extras tied 1-1, the Orioles’ Jeremiah Jackson brought home Leody Taveras on a safety squeeze in the top of the tenth, though the Astros tied it in the bottom half on an automatic double by Yordan Alvarez. The O’s countered with two more runs in the top of the 11th, with Tyler O’Neill getting the go-ahead RBI by hustling out an infield single. The six-game winning streak is the club’s first since May 30 to June 5, 2025 (h/t to Jake Rill of MLB.com). The Orioles are now two games out of a Wild Card spot.
3. McGonigle reaches 100 hits
Tigers rookie Kevin McGonigle recorded two hits in a 7-0 win over the Angels yesterday, the first being a double to lead off the game against Grayson Rodriguez. That was the 100th hit of McGonigle’s career, and he reached that mark in just 95 games. The young infielder is the second player in Tigers history to record 100 hits in less than 100 games (h/t to Chris McCosky of The Detroit News). The other was Hall-of-Famer Ty Cobb. McGonigle is batting .281/.389/.418 with a 132 wRC+ in 422 plate appearances. He ranks in the 85th percentile or better for strikeout rate (14.0%), walk rate (14.2%), and Batting Run Value (15), according to Statcast.
Photo courtesy of Eric Canha, Imagn Images
