Red Sox Links: Is The AL East The Best Division Ever?

Alex Cora didn’t even see Alex Verdugo’s walkout home run last night, and someone needs to put “I look up, I was like, ‘Oh.’” on a tee-shirt. (Christopher Smith, MassLive)

James Paxton may finally be ready to throw a pitch for the Boston Red Sox. (Cue an eagle, swooping down from the grandstand during pre-game warmups, latching onto Paxton’s arm, and flying away with his ulnar collateral ligament.) (Julian McWilliams, Boston Globe)\

Praise be to the baseball gods, Enmanuel Valdez got the ball he hit for his first career home run back. Looks like someone read the flowchart! (Christopher Smith, MassLive)

There have been some spicy words between the Blue Jays and the Red Sox this year (well, really just between Alex Verdugo and Alec Manoah.) So does this series represent a springboard opportunity for the Sox? (Rob Bradford, WEEI)

We’ve officially had one month of rule changes. Where have the biggest impacts been? Time of game, obviously, but also batting average for left-handed hitters. (Ronald Blum, Boston Globe)

But, are pitching injuries rising as well? It’s hard to say for certain, but maaaayyyybeeee. (The Athletic)

We know the American League East is stacked this year. But how good is it on a historical scale? (Sarah Langs, MLB.com)

The Mexico Series looked a lot more fun than the London Series, TBH. Hopefully the Sox can get down there in the future. (James Wagner, NY Times)