In the second verse, Garfunkel sings "July, she will fly, and give no warning to her flight," referencing the parting of his lover. For the Red Sox, July is when they flew, stunning their opponents and soaring to heights never before experienced in the illustrious history of this great franchise.
That's where the similarities end. Garfunkel laments the loss of his ex as the days grow shorter into the onset of a depressing autumn. Meanwhile, the Sox are here to stay, entering August with as much or more momentum than they’ve ever had at the start of this crucial month, and eyeing an autumn that they hope is the furthest thing from depressing.
OK, that was about as awkward and long-winded an introduction as we've ever given you. If you're still with us, and want to know how incredible the month was from a numbers perspective for the Red Sox, here is a sample:
- With a 20-6 record in July, the Red Sox established the best winning percentage (.769) for the month in franchise history. It was their first 20-win month since May 2007.
- Boston went 7-0-1 in the eight July series.
- The club led the major leagues in runs (171), runs per game (6.58), home runs (tied for first with 40), RBIs (tied for first with 162), walks (110) and on-base percentage (.373). It ranked second in hits, average, slugging, OPS, extra-base hits and total bases.
- The 6.58 scoring average and the .874 OPS are the team’s best mark for the month of July since 1946, the team that owns the second-highest winning percentage in franchise history.
- Dustin Pedroia led the majors with 46 hits, the most for a Red Sox player during the month of July since 1939, when a trio of all-time greats achieved the feat.
- Pedroia also led baseball in total bases (81) and was tied for first in runs (27) and extra-base hits (18). His .411 average was second-highest in the game.
- Adrian Gonzalez finished the month batting .535 (23-for-43) during a still-alive 10-game hitting streak, driving in 12 runs and scoring nine in that run. His streak of seven straight games with multiple hits is a career high and the longest for a Red Sox hitter since Kevin Youkilis did it in nine straight games in 2007.
- Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit safely in the final eight games of the month, batting .364 (12-for-33) with three home runs and 10 RBIs.
- Jacoby Ellsbury finished the month with a .382 (42-for-110) average and eight home runs, which is one shy of his previous career high for an entire season.
- Daniel Bard and Matt Albers combined to throw 25 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing only 14 hits and striking out 28.
