Beantown Rundown: What to make of Red Sox blazing hot start to 2024 campaign

The Red Sox were expected to be a somewhat similar team to the one we saw last year. They had a pretty strong lineup with some exciting bats, but their pitching staff left a lot to be desired. After not having nearly enough top-end starting pitching talent last year, the front office made the seemingly ill-advised decision to run it back with virtually the same group of starters.

No one can be blamed for being mad at the team’s ownership group for not truly investing in the team over the offseason, but so far, the results have worked in their favor, as Boston’s pitching staff has been superb. Starters are going deep into games, not giving up many runs, and then handing things over to a bullpen that has been even better to this point.

The only starter for the Red Sox who has given up more than one earned run over his first two starts is Brayan Bello, who is supposed to be the ace of this rotation. Tanner Houck has yet to yield a run over 12 spotless innings, while Nick Pivetta, Kutter Crawford, and Garrett Whitlock have all only given up one earned run over their first two starts.

Again, the bullpen has been even better for the most part. Kenley Jansen, Justin Slaten, Greg Weissert, and Josh Winckowski all haven’t given up a run yet, with Jansen having pitched the fewest of that group by going four innings over his time on the mound. The only guy who has really struggled to this point is Joely Rodriguez, who blew a 3-1 extra innings lead in the third game of the season against the Mariners.

The lineup has been solid, as they have received strong starts from Tyler O’Neill, Reese McGuire, and Jarren Duran. While they will likely come back down to earth, this group still has a lot of room to grow, as Rafael Devers, Triston Casas, and Masataka Yoshida haven’t exactly been as hot as these guys. Aside from Trevor Story’s shoulder injury, it’s been a fairly encouraging start here as well.

The biggest question everyone has is pretty obvious; is this sort of success sustainable? The Red Sox are riding dominant pitching performances to victory right now, and their lineup is doing what they need to pick up wins. That’s the easiest way to win games in the MLB, and while it’s only a ten-game sample, they’ve followed that plan exceptionally well to this point.

It’s worth noting that their wins so far have come against a trio of subpar American League West teams. While the Mariners are a Wild Card hopeful, the Angels (who are surprisingly 6-4) and Athletics don’t have many expectations when it comes to winning games. The Sox immediately will get a tougher challenge with the Orioles rolling into town for a three-game series, so it will be interesting to see how they fare against a better team.

As noted, the lineup is probably due to improve moving forward, while the pitching staff will obviously give up more runs in future outings. The initial signs are far more encouraging than many folks could have reasonably expected, though, and there may be some reason to tune in and watch the Sox after all this season. This doesn’t mean Boston is a championship contender, but if they can keep playing baseball at this level, they could end up being a surprise Wild Card contender as the season progresses.