Everyone fears the Dodgers. The two-time defending World Series Champs have no weaknesses and unlimited depth of All-Star caliber players. From July 31 to August 2, they played the Boston Red Sox, who were without their two highest-paid players — star shortstop Trevor Story and ace starting pitcher Garrett Crochet — as well as upcoming star Roman Anthony, who has been injured virtually all season.

    Boston at full strength should have had difficulty winning even one game against the titans of the league, but, in typical Bostonian fashion, the Red Sox stormed into Dodger Stadium and won not one, not two, but three games in a series sweep versus the defending champs, highlighted by four home runs from Ceddanne Rafaela.

    This series is not a fluke. In fact, after returning from the All-Star break — the unofficial halfway point of the season — the Red Sox are 12-3, which is the best record in the MLB. Their success started before the All-Star break by going on a nine-game winning streak. They continued the streak out of the break, reaching 15 games in a row, tying the all-time Red Sox win streak record set in 1946.

    For most teams a 15-game winning streak followed by having the best record post-All-Star break would put them at the top of the league. However, it didn’t for the Red Sox because of how poorly Boston started the season. Before their historic winning streak, the Sox were 37-48. They held the worst record in the American League and the second-worst record across the majors. Only the Rockies had a worse record, whom the Red Sox had lost to head-to-head in a series in late June. The team was so bad that chants of “sell the team” rang out daily throughout Fenway.

    While it’s great that the Red Sox are hot, is the hype legitimate? Through 108 games this year, the Red Sox are 57-51. It’s a great improvement from their position in June, but it’s the exact same record the Red Sox held through 108 games in 2025, 2024 and 2023. The exact same record. Last year they ended up making the playoffs, but the two years before they missed them. All of this just shows that anything can happen in 162 games. The Sox still have a lot of baseball to play, and their fate is far from determined.

    Red Sox hopefuls believe that Boston will be able to continue the upward trend and make it to October, when hopefully Anthony, Story and Crochet return. The Sox, however, have found success with other, maybe hungrier, players, so the addition of high-payroll returners might shift tensions in the clubhouse and affect the almost golden chemistry the team is experiencing.

    The general manager, Craig Breslow, has shifted some things around by trading left-handed pitcher Connelly Early for infielder Curtis Mead to keep this magical turnaround going and, in doing so, keep his job.

    By the time you’re reading this, everyone will be back in school, trying to return to the flow of things, and we will have a better idea of where the Red Sox stand, but right now, they are as unpredictable as it gets.

    As for my prediction, I believe a playoff berth is likely. With amazing performances and leadership from veterans Willson Contreras, Ranger Suárez and Aroldis Chapman, paired with fire and hot bats from younger players like Wilyer Abreu and Ceddanne Rafaela, I would be shocked if they missed the playoffs.

    I don’t, however, see the Red Sox winning their division as they currently sit third in the most competitive division in baseball. It would be extremely difficult for them to catch the American League-leading 65-46 Tampa Bay Rays, although it is possible as they swept the Rays in their last meeting.

    As for going further in the playoffs, it will be difficult to make it past the Wild Card round, but I think the Sox will do it. If the playoffs started today, the Red Sox would face the 63-49 Yankees. They have a worse record, but in the latest matchup, the Red Sox completed a four-game series sweep of the Yankees. I see the Red Sox making it out of the Wild Card, then winning the Division series, and making it to the American League Championship, where they lose.

    While it is always the teams that get hot in October that win the World Series, I don’t see the Red Sox fizzling out too soon. The reason I have a 60-51 team making it so far in the playoffs is because of all of their success head-to-head, especially against the Dodgers. One win is luck, two a coincidence, but three … It’s earned. The Red Sox are not a fluke. They’re here to win games.