Red Sox tie franchise record with 15th straight win
Boston beat Baltimore 6-3 at Fenway Park to match the club’s 1946 winning-streak mark and climb into wild-card position.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
3 min read
The Boston Red Sox have reached a place no club in franchise history has passed: 15 wins in a row.
Boston matched its team record Wednesday afternoon at Fenway Park, beating the Baltimore Orioles 6-3 in the first game of a doubleheader, according to CBS Sports. The streak equals the 15-game run set by the 1946 Red Sox.
The win moved Boston to 52-48 after the club began the surge at 37-48. CBS Sports reported that the Red Sox have gone from 6 1/2 games out of a wild-card spot to two games ahead for the third American League wild card during the streak.
Boston did not waste time against Orioles starter Dean Kremer. The Red Sox filled the bases within the first 10 pitches, led 2-0 after 12 pitches and finished the opening inning ahead 4-0, according to CBS Sports.
That quick burst fit the larger story of the streak: the bats have woken up. CBS Sports reported that Boston averaged 3.96 runs per game before the run began, the second-lowest mark in MLB. During the streak, the Red Sox have averaged 5.87 runs per game, fifth-best in baseball over that span.
A record run at Fenway
Rookie left-hander Jake Bennett gave Boston 5 2/3 innings against Baltimore, allowing three runs, according to CBS Sports. That counted as his roughest start in more than a month by the standards of his recent form: he had allowed three total runs across his previous five starts and worked at least six innings in each of them.
The pitching staff has been a major piece of the climb, too. CBS Sports reported that Boston entered Wednesday with a 3.55 ERA, fourth-best in MLB, while its starters owned a 3.88 ERA, eighth-best in the league.
Willson Contreras, speaking after Boston’s 14th straight victory Monday, said the club still had plenty ahead but liked the way it was playing, according to MLB.com.
“There’s a lot of games to be played, but if we keep playing with the energy we’re playing right now, good things are going to happen,” Contreras said, via MLB.com. “Special things are going to happen.”
Where the streak ranks
CBS Sports listed only three Red Sox winning streaks of at least 13 games:
- 2026: 15 wins, from July 3 through Wednesday, and still active
- 1946: 15 wins, from July 3 to July 20
- 1948: 13 wins, from July 18 to July 27
The current streak is MLB’s longest since the St. Louis Cardinals won 17 straight in September 2021, according to CBS Sports. It is also the longest in the American League since Cleveland’s 22-game run in August and September 2017, the AL record.
CBS Sports reported that Boston’s streak is the second-longest by a team that was below .500 when it began. The 1916 New York Giants hold the mark after starting 2-13, winning 17 in a row and later taking the pennant.
The playoff math has moved fast. FanGraphs put Boston’s postseason odds at 13.4% before the streak and 64.7% entering Wednesday’s game, the largest increase in baseball over that stretch, according to CBS Sports.
The Red Sox can take the record outright Wednesday night in the second game of the doubleheader. CBS Sports reported that Boston had not announced a starter, while Baltimore planned to start Kyle Bradish, who recently agreed to a five-year extension.
This story draws on original reporting from CBS Sports.