BOSTON — Fenway Park buzzed with electricity for five days coming out of the All-Star break, and with good reason. The Red Sox inched toward setting a new franchise-record winning streak, turning around what once seemed like a lost season in the process.
Though they fell just shy of getting that sweet 16th straight victory that would have put them alone in franchise lore, it was a run that won’t be forgotten anytime soon.
Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley, stationed in the Fenway Park Legends Suite the past few days, loved every second of what he witnessed.
“This energy here is as good as it gets,” said Eckersley, who pitched for the Red Sox from 1978-84, and again in ‘98, and was a team broadcaster for two decades. “I love it. And the fans, they deserve it.”
The man known throughout the baseball universe as “Eck” was part of a 14-game winning streak with the 1988 A’s, but he noted the difference between that team and this one.
“We won the [AL pennant],” said Eckersley. “But we didn’t start 14 below [.500].”
Willson Contreras and Sonny Gray, who have established themselves as veteran leaders on a young team, held an impromptu meeting with the players after the game, reminding their teammates of the big picture.
“We just won 15 games in a row, and I think all of us knew it was going to end at some point,” said Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy. “It just happened to end tonight, so they’re already refocused. I wanted to go in and talk to the team, and Sonny and Willson were already handling it. The focus is that’s behind us, and the big thing is if we continue to play baseball that way, we’re going to win a heck of a lot more than we lose.”
What was the message from the veterans?
“I want everybody to feel proud of what we did,” said Contreras. “We tied a record [that had been there] since 1946. That’s not easy to do. We made history. We played good baseball for two weeks or more. And we just lost one game. We know losing is part of the game. I don’t want anybody to feel down. But I want everybody to feel proud.”
The day before this 23-game turnaround started, the Sox were 32-46 while trailing by 15 1/2 games in the American League East and six in the Wild Card standings. The deficit in the East is down to seven games behind the Rays (59-42), and the Sox (52-49) hold possession of the third Wild Card spot by two games over the Mariners (51-52).
“I think we can beat anybody,” Contreras said. “That’s lesson No. 1. We are a good team that battles. We are resilient and a team that stays together, winning or losing. That was a great ride.”
With a chance to make history, a crowd of 38,005 crammed into Fenway Park.
But the night started in ominous fashion. During the day, in Game 1, it was the Red Sox who took a 4-0 lead in the first inning.
Despite trailing for the entire game, the crowd cheered loudly every time there was even the potential for a momentum turn.
Down by four runs with one out in the eighth, they cheered “Let’s go, Red Sox” with Ceddanne Rafaela up after a single by Anthony Seigler.
After Rafaela flew out, Wilyer Abreu belted one toward the wall in left-center and there was a roar of anticipation. That’s what the Red Sox have conditioned their fans for in these last few improbable weeks. But Abreu’s drive landed on the warning track, in the glove of center fielder Colton Cowser.
In the ninth, when Contreras was hit by a pitch to lead off the frame, the crowd was again on its feet.
“I think they were waiting for us to load the bases, I really do,” said Tracy. “Just the way we’ve come back the last four or five days, and that was something we didn’t do early in the season. So they were on their feet, and I felt like they were thinking, ‘Let’s stick around and see if they load the bases and get the tying run to the plate.’ That’s how it felt, which was awesome.”
Though the streak ended, the memories of it should last for a long time.
