Brutal July Schedule Will Be Real Test For Boston

The 2022 Boston Red Sox season has been quite the roller coaster ride thus far. After a dissapointing 23-27 start to the season, the Sox came alive in the month of June. The team went 20-6 in June, getting their season on track and leaving them with a 43-33 record entering July. The last month has truly been a sight to see, and it puts Boston back into contention status.

That contention status however will really be put to the test this coming month. Boston has one of the toughest, if not THE toughest, schedules in baseball. The schedule is an absolute gauntlet. It’s filled with teams that are either A) championship contenders or B) solid playoff caliber teams.

Red Sox July Opponents:

• 7 Games vs New York Yankees (56-20)
• 7 Games vs Tampa Bay Rays (40-34)
• 4 Games vs Cleveland Guardians (38-34)
• 3 Games vs Toronto Blue Jays (42-33)
• 3 Games vs Milwaukee Brewers (44-33)
• 3 Games vs Chicago Cubs (29-46)

Aside from the Cubs series, which kicks off the month, Boston gets no breaks here. From the 4th of July on, Boston will be playing straight playoff opponents until August. Considering most of these are against AL East opponents, these games will be quite important.

If Boston is serious about contending, this will be the time to prove it. They’re going to need to come out of this brutal schedule with at least a .500 record. This especially due to the fact that the Rays, Blue Jays, and Guardians are all direct competition for the Wild Card race.

The AL East crown is out of reach at this point. Crazier things have happened, but the Yankees have such a strong hold on the division. It would take a collapse of epic proportions to take the Yankees down, along with another scorching hot streak from Boston. Both are possible, but unlikely to occur at the same time. Boston was scorching hot all June, but so weren’t the Yankees.

That means Boston’s focus 100% is on the Wild Card. Only a few games separates Boston from Toronto and Tampa. These games could ultimately play a huge role in deciding said race.

The good news for the Sox is they should be getting some reinforcements during July. Chris Sale and Nathan Eovaldi could potentially return soon. Kike Hernandez is also expected to return this month. That’s not to mention that Boston could make a trade or two in the coming weeks to help bolster the team.

This will be the true test of just how good this Sox team is. If they can come out of July with a positive record, it may be time to start putting them in the championship conversation.

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