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The Red Sox entered May coming off a red-hot start to their season, and while they were rolling it seemed impossible to stay on that kind of record-setting path. Unsurprisingly, they tapered off a bit and started playing something close to .500 ball for much of the month. They ended May on another hot streak, though, and ended up finishing the month with an 18-11 record and a 39-18 record on the year. Shoutout to both jaaaaasper and PAT_Terrific for nailing their predictions on their May record. I missed by one game, and will forever be ashamed by this result.
So, after that they’ll look to have yet another successful month in June. It’s not going to be easy, however, as the upcoming month will be a grueling one. In terms of travel, they’ll be visiting all corners of the country.
June starts, of course, with the final three games of this series in Houston. After thay, they’ll get one of their three off days of the month, and then they come home for a six-game homestand. Following that is their toughest stretch of the month, a ten-game-in-eleven-days road trip that includes a trip to the west coast. The Sox then come to Fenway for six games before two games on the road to finish off the month. By the end, they’ll have played 15 road games and 12 at home.
The home/road split is tough, and the level of competition won’t make anyone feel much better. The first three games are, of course, against Houston, who is probably the most talented team in baseball. Their first homestand should be the easiest stretch of June with games against the White Sox and Tigers. After that they get three against the Orioles before spending the second half of the month against the Mariners (twice), the Twins, the Angels and the Yankees. All told, they have 15 games against teams better than .500 and 12 against teams under .500.
So, between the travel and the games against winning teams, this will be a test for the Red Sox. So, it’s time for guesses. In the team’s 27 games, I will say they end the month 16-11. What say you?