The Red Sox are right where they wanted to be 61 games into the season. Tied for first place in the AL East at 36-25 with the Orioles. They are hitting an unprecedented .291 as a team and lead the league in runs scored with 350. Xander Bogaerts and David Ortiz are possibly the two leading candidates for AL MVP. Bogaerts is hitting .358, first in the American League. Ortiz is hitting .346, second in the American League. Bogaerts leads the league in hits with 92 and is on pace to end the year close 250 hits. Ortiz leads the league with 55 RBI’s, close to a pace of 150 for the year. Yet, neither of them are the hero of this team thus far.
The Real hero is 31-year-old knuckleballer Steven Wright. As good as the Red Sox offense has been this season, the pitching has been a disaster. The Sox are 11th in the American League in earned run average and in runs allowed. They were not supposed to be great, but they were not supposed to suck either. Their biggest problem has been inconsistency. Even $217 million dollar David Price has struggled thus far with an ERA of 4.63. Price has been pitching better as of late, but we have yet to seen what we all expected from him. Clay Bucholz has been a disaster, earning his way straight to the bullpen. Rick Porcello was good early on, but has struggled as of late. Joe Kelly got sent down to the minors, while E-Rod has struggled after returning from injury. Then there is Steven Wright. The American League leader in earned run average. Yup, you heard that right. He has been the ace of this team so far. Yes, I said it; Steven Wright has been an ace for the Boston Red Sox.
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