That’s the result after a winning, yet uneven, stretch at Fenway Park.
There were seven victories filled with timely hitting, quality pitching and some pep in a clubhouse that has seen its fair share of silent nights this year. There were two losses to the rival New York Yankees which seemingly sent the Sox to a new low in 2010. Add in a setback to the Toronto Blue Jays in the finale of the homestand which kept Boston in fourth place in the American League East, and the 10-game stretch could best be described as a baby step forward.
Overall, the Sox played "a little bit better," according to catcher Victor Martinez. But will "a little bit better" be enough when perhaps the most challenging portion of their schedule begins Friday in Detroit?
"It’ll be tough," said second baseman Dustin Pedroia of a road ahead pocked with potholes. "We gotta get our rest."
As of Thursday’s off-day, nine teams in major league baseball had as many as 20 wins. The Sox will play five of those teams in five straight series before the end of the month, all but one of those series taking place on the road.
If Boston thought the homestand was going to give it some indication of where things stood, the club will certainly find out prior to Memorial Day weekend.
The gauntlet starts on Friday at Detroit, which just took three of four against the Yankees and is 12-4 at home. The Sox then visit the Bronx on Monday and Tuesday for two in Yankee Stadium, where they’ve lost seven straight. There is a quick flight home for two against Minnesota, which carries a 22-12 mark into Friday’s action, and then the club whisks away for three at Philadelphia, the two-time defending NL champion.
Finally, still without a day off, Boston plays three straight at Tampa Bay, which already swept the Sox at Fenway in April and boasts the best record in baseball.
The combined record of the five opponents is 108-62, and three of the five lead their respective divisions.
Perhaps aware of what lies ahead, some members of the club took little stock in the result at Fenway from May 3-12.
"That doesn’t even enter into the picture," manager Terry Francona said when asked if he could take some positives from the homestand. "We get so caught up with what we are doing today because that’s what truly matters. Whether [the homestand] is good or bad, that’s probably not a productive way of doing things. I’m not trying to talk us down, it’s just that today is what mattered."
The schedule finally eases up with four at home against lowly Kansas City at the end of the month. Before then, "today" comes 13 times against five difficult opponents, a stretch which will go a long way toward determining whether the Red Sox have what it takes.
