Eerie Parallels Aleady Emerging Between 2026 Red Sox And 2025 Red Sox originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Boston Red Sox entered 2026 with a significantly different team than the one that ended 2025. And yet, so far, their results have been remarkably similar.
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The 2025 Red Sox ended last season by losing two of three on the road in the AL Wild Card Series. Garrett Crochet pitched Boston to victory over the New York Yankees in Game 1, but the Red Sox dropped their next two games to lose the series as their bats went cold and their defense betrayed them.
Interestingly, that’s more or less how Boston’s first series of 2026 went. The visiting Red Sox won the opener against the Cincinnati Reds behind a gem from Crochet, only to lose the next two games as their bats fell quiet, especially with runners in scoring position, and their defense made some costly mistakes.
The similarities don’t end there, either. In both cases, Boston scored three runs in the first game, lost the middle game by one run and started Connelly Early in the rubber match.
Obviously the stakes are much higher for an October series in the Bronx than a March interleague series in Cincy, but it’s fascinating and a little bizarre that the Red Sox’s last two meaningful series have both unfolded so similarly. It’s possible the same issues remain and Boston hasn’t improved as much as it hoped.
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The Red Sox will try to put their rough weekend behind them when they continue their road trip against the Houston Astros on Monday night.
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