The way the Boston Red Sox have responded to start the year, after being swept in three games by the Orioles to start the season, shows some similarities to what the team showed in 2018 when they won the World Series
The team of Boston Red Sox of 2021 is a difficult team to predict. A set that put together a rotation based on pitchers who have had health and consistency issues and added multiple players who can play in every field, looking for depth, but none being an established star.
In a year in which for the first time they will not have the three gardeners who guided the team to its fourth championship of major leagues since the year 2000, the doubts that exist about the team are many, but somehow the set begins to prove that it will be highly competitive.
However, the return of Alex Cora after a year of suspension, in this way the leader who led the team to the 2018 championship, has given a certain level of confidence that was not had during 2020, the year in which the team went playing one of his worst seasons since the fateful 2012 team, which has been significantly noticed.
With eight wins and three defeats so far, Boston Red Sox occupies the first place of the division this American League. Much has to do with an offensive that has been effective that before Wednesday’s day was beating for an average of 277 (second in MLB), A packing percentage (OBP) of .332 (ninth) and a slugging (SLG) of 479 (third), good for an OPS of 812 (third), being one of the best batting bodies of the major leagues so far.
As for their body of pitchers, the Red stockings are sixth in the American League average net run with 3.93. They are the team that has allowed less home runs, on average, in the major leagues, Which has been vital to maintaining his winning streak so far. However, on the defensive level, the team still has a lot of ground to cover, being one of the teams with the most errors to start the year (six) and having one of the worst sets in defensive efficiency of MLB, Ranking 23rd in this metric.
Despite the latter, Boston is winning games in every way possible. Games where the offensive command, narrow games where the pitchers have made a difference, games in which they have been low and others that have dominated from the beginning, very similar to what happened with the 2018 champion team.
There are marked differences, especially with regard to the type of staff that made up the 2018 team and the current one for the Red stockingsBut there is no doubt that, so far, the team has proven, against all odds, that it can win games.