Red Sox Show World Series Contender Bona Fides with Dominance over Cubs
The 2017 season hasn't gone according to script for the Boston Red Sox.
The prohibitive favorites in the American League East coming out of spring, the Sox wobbled early and entered their weekend series with the Chicago Cubs at a pedestrian 11-10.
After a three-game interlude with the defending champs at Fenway Park, Boston proved its World Series bona fides and re-established its role as a Junior Circuit contender.
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Oh, sure, the calendar has barely flipped to May. Titles aren't won this time of year.
Still, make no mistake: This was a test for the Red Sox, and they passed.
In Game 1 Friday, Boston prevailed 5-4 thanks to a five-run first inning against right-hander and 2015 National League Cy Young Award winner Jake Arrieta.
National League MVP Kris Bryant launched a solo homer over the Green Monster in the top of the first. Red Sox left fielder and early AL Rookie of the Year front-runner Andrew Benintendi responded with a blast of his own in the bottom half.
Quickly, the atmosphere went from charged to positively vibrating.
"It was like a World Series game," Boston catcher Christian Vazquez said, per MLB.com's Ian Browne and Carrie Muskat. "They have a great team and great hitters, good players, and we do, too. Hope to see them in the World Series."
The Cubs responded in Game 2, coming back from a 3-0 deficit after three innings to win 7-4.
Former Red Sox hurler John Lackey got the win for Chicago. Bryant launched a pair of doubles, while first baseman Anthony Rizzo, catcher Miguel Montero and second baseman/left fielder Ben Zobrist all homered.
That left the rubber match Sunday. It was the Cubs' opportunity to leave their mark in Beantown and solidify their dominance.
Instead, Boston plated four runs in the eighth inning to break a 2-2 tie and cruised to a 6-2 victory.
Hanley Ramirez homered, while Benintendi collected two more hits and finished the series 4-for-11 with two homers, three RBI and four runs scored.
Just like that, the Red Sox and Cubs own identical 13-11 records. Just like that, the Sox got a whiff of their October possibilities.
"This was a highly billed series," Red Sox manager John Farrell said, per MLB.com's Browne and Muskat. "A competitive series certainly. It was a good series win for us that was needed, there's no question about it."
What's more, they did it without using ace Chris Sale and while deploying the bottom of their rotation, as CNHI Sports Boston's Chris Mason pointed out:
Boston is in for a dogfight in the crowded, noisy AL East. The Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees are tied for the division lead entering play Monday, and the small-market Tampa Bay Rays and disappointing but dangerous Toronto Blue Jays lurk.
Taking two of three against the Cubbies won't fundamentally alter any of that.
It won't bring $200 million-plus left-hander David Price back to health and effectiveness any sooner, and it won't magically awaken an offense that ranks in the bottom third in runs scored.
It matters, though—symbolically and practically. If the Cubs had won this series or swept it, there'd be hand-wringing aplenty in Red Sox nation. Now, there's legitimate optimism.
For the rest of us, this series teased the boundless potential of a hypothetical Boston-Chicago Fall Classic.
It would feature two of the game's most storied franchises. More than that, it would showcase an array of attention-grabbing storylines.
There are the former Red Sox on the Cubs roster, including left-hander Jon Lester, Lackey and reliever Koji Uehara, as well as former Boston draft pick Rizzo.
There's executive Theo Epstein, architect of both Boston and Chicago's recent curse-busting titles.
Imagine the cognitive dissonance if and when Epstein returns wearing blue and red and seeking a repeat trophy.
Baseball has a habit of spitting on expectations. Chances are that the Cubs and Red Sox won't clash in the 2017 World Series, because things rarely go according to script.
If they do, this weekend showed why it'll be compelling on stilts.
And it proved why the Sox should feel pretty good about their chances.
All standings and statistics current as of Sunday and courtesy of MLB.com unless otherwise noted.
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