Red Sox First Half Recap Day One: Best Wins/Worst Losses

The MLB All star break begins today, which means there is no baseball to speak of for the next four nights. Normally, the all star break occurs somewhat close to the midway point of the season, however this year the Red Sox have played 97 games already by the break, and have just 65 remaining. Going into the all star break here is how the AL East Standings shape up

1. Boston Red Sox: 58-39
2. Tampa Bay Rays: 2.5 GB
3. Baltimore Orioles: 4.5 GB
4. New York Yankees: 6.0 GB
5. Toronto Blue Jays: 11.5 GB

It looks as if its going to be a four team race heading to the second half, and if the Yankees dont get hot they will find themselves out of the race very soon. Over the next for days we will be reviewing the first 97 games of the Red Sox season to see the highs and lows that led to them being in first place at the all star break. Heres how the next four days will play out

Monday: Top wins and worst losses of the first 97 games
Tuesday: Top 10 individual performances of the season
Wednesday: Roster power rankings: Ranking every players contribution to the team this season
Thursday: A preview of the final 65 games

So we begin with the top ten wins of the season so far

10. June 4th Vs Rangers: W 17-5: After getting swept by the Rangers earlier in the season, the Red Sox were determined to prove they could beat the team with the second best record in the league. They did so in dominant fashion, opening the three games series by putting up a season high 17 runs. After scoring two in the first, the Red Sox responded with 6 runs in the second, opening up a 8-0 lead. The Red Sox led off three straight innings with home runs in the 4th-6th innings and scored in the first seven innings of the game. It was a fun night.

9. April 1st @ Yankees: W 8-2: Opening day and a chance to start anew after last year awful 93 loss season. Even though it was just one game, the Red Sox did their best to show everyone this team was much different than last years. They ran the bases well, Hit well, played good defense, and pitched well, an all around strong performance, highlighted by a 4 run second inning and a 3 run ninth inning.

8. June 1st @ Yankees: W 11-1: After a loss to the Yankees the night before the two teams were now tied in the standings and a loss in this game would push the Red Sox down to second place. They would have none of that as 3 home runs, including a grand slam from Mike Napoli led the way to a dominant 11-1 win, reclaiming sole possession of first place, a title they have had sole possession of ever since this game

7. June 18th Vs Rays: W 3-1: In the second game of a doubleheader, Daniel Navas solo home run and Felix Doubronts 8 scoreless innings led to a 1-0 lead heading to the 9th inning. However when Andrew Bailey blew the lead in the ninth, it was gut check time. Jonny Gomes answered immediately in the bottom of the ninth, hitting a two run blast to sweep the doubleheader, and show once again the resiliency of this years team compared to last years.

6. July 9th @ Mariners: W 11-8: On a 3 game losing streak, tied for the season high, The Red Sox were trying to avoid their longest losing streak of the season. Things didnt look good however, as the Mariners quickly opened up a 5-1 lead. Two two run homers however would tie the game at 5, and three more homers would open up a Red Sox lead which they hung onto for the largest comeback win of the season, and a win that would be the first of a four game winning streak.

5. May 6th Vs Twins: W 6-5: Once again on a 3 game losing streak, coming off getting swept by the Rangers, the Red Sox returned home to face the Twins. The Twins opened an early 3-0 lead, but the Red Sox fought back to tie it and eventually take a 5-4 lead in the eighth on Dustin Pedroias first home run of the year, ending his long drought. Unfortunately Andrew Bailey couldnt hold the lead in the ninth, as the Twins tied it and we headed to extra innings. It took until the 11th, but Stephen Drew finally ended it on a wall ball double with two outs to end the 3 game losing streak.

4. June 10th @ Rays: W 10-8: A game that can only be described as an emotional slog, one of the craziest games in baseball this season, one that lasted over 5 hours and spanned 14 innings. The Red Sox quickly jumped out to a 7-0 lead before an out had even been recorded. The Rays very slowly came back, one run at a time, before eventually tying it in the eighth on a wild pitch of all things. The Red Sox quickly countered in the tenth, taking an 8-7 lead, but the rays would tie it right back off Andrew Bailey in the bottom of the ninth, and had the bases loaded with no outs, seemingly guaranteed victory. Somehow Bailey didnt allow another run in that situation and we headed to extras. Finally in the 14th, the Sox added two runs, which was enough to get through the bottom of the inning, and the Sox won a game 5 hours after they thought they would win easily after leading 7-0.

3. April 20th Vs Royals: @ 4-3: In an emotional game, the first at Fenway Park since the boston marathon bombings, The Red Sox trailed 2-1 with two outs in the 8th inning. In steps Daniel Nava to hit a clutch 3 run home run to give Boston a 4-2 lead and electrify an emotional crowed. Andrew Bailey gave up one run in the ninth to cut the gap to 4-3, but ultimately saved the game, not only winning an emotional game, but extending the Red Sox winning streak at the time to 7 games, their longest of the season to date.

2. May 26th Vs Indians: W 6-5: Both number 2 and number 1 on this list I was unable to watch due to being in vacation in Vegas. Funny enough, this game was on the last day of that vacation, while the #1 game was on the first day of that vacation. In this one the Red Sox Trailed 5-2 in the bottom of the ninth inning, before surging for a four run ninth, capped by a walk off double from Jacoby Ellsbury. The biggest thing about this game may be that it gave momentum to Ellsburys season. Before the walk off hit he was hitting a weak .243, since then he has hit around .350, raising his overall average to .300

1. May 16th @ Rays W 4-3: Coming into this game, the Red Sox were just a measly 3-9 over their past twelve games, and their season appeared to be spiraling downward, as they had fallen to 3 games back in the division and down to 3rd place. Trailing 3-1 with two outs in the ninth inning, and the bases loaded, Will Middlebrooks came through with a bases clearing double, giving Boston a 4-3 lead. The win put the season back on track, beginning a 5 game winning streak and an impressive 18-7 stretch.

Unfortunately for all the exciting wins, their have also been some tough losses, here are the 10 worst.

10. May 3rd @ Rangers: L 7-0: In the first game of what would be a 3 game sweep, Felix Doubront and the Red Sox pitching was shelled for 18 hits against and seven runs, while the offense did nothing in a 7-0 loss in a game that began a miserable 2-9 stretch for the team.

9. May 14th @ Rays: L 5-3: The previous game was the first game of a 2-9 stretch, this was the last game of it. Ortiz hit a 3 run homer to give Boston an early 3-0 lead, but in the fourth inning, an infield pop up with two outs and the bases loaded, would inexplicably drop to the ground in a classic case of miscommunication, allowing two runs to score, and providing the climax of frustration for Red Sox fans who had endured a rough past couple weeks.

8. May 12th Vs Blue Jays: L 12-4: 6 years ago there was the Mothers Day Miracle, this one would be dubbed the Mothers Day Massacre. This is yet another game within that brutal 2-9 early May stretch, The Blue Jays pounded out 5 home runs against Red Sox pitching including two from Jose Bautista en route to a blowout win.

7. April 23rd Vs As: L 13-0: The biggest blowout loss of the season, and mercifully a game that ended after seven innings due to rain. Theres not much to say about this one except this is fondly remembered as the game where Alfredo Aceves pitched like crap and famously blamed the offense for the loss in his postgame press conference. That got him promptly demoted to the minors for being a clubhouse cancer.

6. May 8th Vs Twins: L 15-8: Yet another game from that 2-9 stretch, and spoiler alert, it wont be the last. Pitcher Allen Webster, making his second career start, allowed four first inning runs to the Twins, but the Red Sox responded with 5 first inning runs of their own, giving them a 5-4 lead after an inning. Unfortunately Webster game up 7 runs right back in the second inning, and the Red Sox found themselves having gave up 11 runs through just 2 innings, and a strong 5 run first inning from the offense already seemed futile. the Twins would tack on a few more over the final seven innings for a 15 run total.

5. April 10th Vs Orioles: L 8-5: This would be higher on the list if it wasnt one of the first few games of the year, therefore making it easier to swallow. Leading 5-4 with two outs in the ninth, a wild pitch allowed the Orioles to tie it at 5, then on the very next pitch, Manny Machado hit a 3 run homer to put the Os on top 8-5, the first of two times this year the Red Sox would lose when they were one strike away from a victory.

4. May 5th @ Rangers: L 4-3: The final game on this list in that 2-9 May stretch. The Sox blew a 3-0 lead before eventually losing in the tenth inning on a base hit from Adrian Beltre. This loss gave the Rangers a sweep over Boston, finishing off the only time the Red Sox have been swept all season.

3. June 20th @ Tigers: L 4-3: The first of a four game series against one of the best teams in the league, the Red Sox knew this would be a very tough series, so any chance they had at a win they needed to take advantage. Unfortunately with a 3-2 lead in the ninth inning, Andrew Bailey allowed a 2 run homer to Jhonny Peralta, sending the Sox to a loss. This would be that would ultimately cost Bailey his job as closer, probably a bit to late.

2. July 6th @ Angels: L 9-7: Leading 7-3 with two outs in the ninth inning, the Red Sox allowed hit after hit before finally allowing the Angels to come all the way back and tie it on an error by Brandon Snyder that would have ended the game. Josh Hamiltons two run homer in the eleventh ended the game.

1. June 23rd @ Tigers: L 7-5: Losing a heartbreaker because one of your pitchers sucked, or even on an error is one thing, but losing one because of a horrendous call from an umpire is another. Tied 4-4 in the eighth, Nava made a catch, but the umpire ruled it hit the ground when it obviously had not. The bad call led to three runs from Detroit, and sent the Red Sox to their third loss in four games. At the time it was feared the loss may send the season back to a downward spiral, but it did the opposite. Since this loss the Red Sox are 13-6