History Suggests Boston Red Sox's Start Puts Them On Pace For a Playoff Berth

The Boston Red Sox are now sitting at 13-10, which has been an early-season benchmark of sorts for the franchise in their successful recent history.

Apr 21, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Boston Red Sox outfielders Wilyer Abreu, Jarren Duran and Rob Refsnyder. / Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Through 23 games, the Boston Red Sox are sitting at 13-10.

On paper, the record may not look all that impressive. Boston is currently third in the AL East, after all, just 1.0 game up on the last-place Toronto Blue Jays.

Still, the Red Sox's road sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates has put them in some respectable company in recent history, as noted by JP Long on X.

The last six times Boston was 13-10 or better through 23 games, they made the postseason each and every time. They did so in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2016, 2018 and 2021, winning the World Series three times in that span.

The Red Sox are 13-10 (.565), a 91-win pace.
 
Most recent Red Sox teams to go 13-10 or better through 23 games:
 
2024
2021*
2018*
2016*
2013*
2009*
2008*
2007*
 
*Made Postseason

— J.P. Long (@SoxNotes) April 21, 2024

Of course, many of those teams got off to a better 23-game start than the 2024 Red Sox, even if this year's squad did manage to reach the threshold. Boston started exactly 13-10 in 2016, though, and they went on to win the AL East that season.

The Red Sox have been able to post a winning record through three-plus weeks thanks in large part to their dominant pitching. In addition to leading the league with a 2.52 ERA, their pitching staff also rank third in WHIP and fifth in batting average against.

Boston, despite ranking second with 29 home runs, ranks 23rd in batting average and 16th in OPS. Their defense also ranks dead last in MLB with a .974 fielding percentage.

It has been a matter of extremes for the Red Sox thus far in 2024 – in a positive sense with their pitching and in negative ones with their fielding, contact hitting and run of bad injury luck – but they are still in decent standing roughly 14% of the way through the season.

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