BOSTON – Monday night, the Red Sox played at Fenway Park for the first time since an epic 15-9 loss to the New York Yankees. In that game the Sox gave up a 9-0 lead, and heard some of the loudest boos directed at the home team in years.

A day later, Boston hit the road with a 4-10 record. It was unthinkable that the Sox would be anywhere near .500 when they returned home a week later. But, thanks to a 6-1 swing through Minnesota and Chicago they played Oakland Monday with a 10-11 record.

It was one of the most successful trips in years for the Sox. The team was able to get away from the white-hot glare of the Boston baseball spotlight and come together as a group. More importantly, the lineup came together to form one of the top offenses in the game.

We always knew this team would score runs, but no one could’ve anticipated the team scoring 46 runs in seven games — even after being held to one run in each of the final two games of the trip.

Why the sudden onslaught? Take a look at the schedule.

The Sox began the season with 14 games against teams that all have winning records. Four of their first five opponents were teams that played in the 2011 playoffs. The early season strength of schedule has changed. Now, the Sox are in the midst of 22 consecutive games against teams that had losing records last season.

Even with the loss of Jacoby Ellsbury and the continued absence of Carl Crawford, the Sox have a lineup capable of scoring runs. The Sox began the week with the second-best team batting average in the American League and had scored the third-most runs. Those numbers were inflated by a pair of 10-run efforts in Chicago, and brought back to earth after scoring one run in each of the last two games of the trip.

Perhaps the most encouraging sign is how Boston won one of those games. It managed to scratch out a run against Jake Peavy in one of the best pitching performances they’ll see all year, a four-hit complete game. Jon Lester went seven in that game, and the bullpen took over from there. Franklin Morales (two outs) and Vincente Padilla (one) combined for a scoreless eighth inning, and Alfredo Aceves notched his fifth save of the season, pitching a 1-2-3 ninth inning for the second time.

When the Sox left Boston on April 22, the pitching was a mess. It started to come together on the road. Aceves hit 98 mph Friday night, and is looking more like a dependable closer. Overall, the bullpen gave up just two earned runs in 172/3 innings.

And the rotation has pitched well. Heading into Monday’s night’s game the Sox had gotten a quality start (six or more innings allowing three or fewer runs) in five straight games.

We’re still keeping a close eye on Clay Buchholz’s progress after struggling through his first four starts, but the Sox have clearly found some confidence. They play 12 of the next 15 games at Fenway Park, all against lower echelon teams. They are back in the AL East after a brutal start, and should be able to beef up on that record over the next two weeks.

It might be May 1, but the calls of “Mayday!” at Fenway have quieted significantly.

Tom Caron is the studio host for Red Sox broadcasts on the New England Sports Network. His column appears in the Press Herald on Tuesdays.

 

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