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BATTING LEADOFF

What a confounding path the Red Sox have forged through 88 games of the 2026 season.

As impressive as the team’s recent 8-2 burst has been, its 40-48 record and last-place standing speak to a season that has veered painfully and profoundly from expectations.

And yet, there are plenty of reminders of the team’s talent. Ranger Suarez and Aroldis Chapman got selected for the All-Star Game, while Sonny Gray had a compelling case. Willson Contreras and Ceddanne Rafaela rank among the top dozen AL position players in wins above replacement as calculated by FanGraphs, making the Sox one of two AL teams with multiple players in that elite grouping.

Perhaps most notably, the Red Sox have scored five more runs than they’ve allowed this year. They’re one of just six American League teams with a positive run differential.

TO THE LINKS

GOOD BEHAVIOR: Throughout his emotionally volatile recent weeks — and as he awaits MLB hearing the appeal of his seven-game suspension — Willson Contreras has stayed productive and gotten introspective. Tim Healey has more.

ABOUT TONIGHT: After a day off, the Red Sox will resume their road trip when they open a three-game series with the White Sox. Payton Tolle will get the start. Here is a preview.

BAD TIMING: Brody Bumila, a recent Bishop Feehan graduate who is projected as a possible first-round pick in Saturday’s Major League Baseball Draft, is dealing with an injury to the ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow. Mike Puzzanghera has the story.

GOOD CALL: MLB got it right when it handed out seven-game suspensions to Cade Cavalli and Contreras last week, writes Peter Abraham.

See more of our Red Sox coverage here.

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