The Boston Red Sox absolutely could not afford a sweep coming out of the All-Star break.

 

It’s the exact fortune that befell them in 2024. The Red Sox walked into Chavez Ravine, got swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers, and proceeded to spend the entire second half falling out of Wild Card contention.

After back-to-back losses to the Chicago Cubs to open the second half, the Red Sox were very much in danger of another sweep. Fortunately, Alex Bregman is on the team now.

Bregman can’t take full credit for the win, because Garrett Crochet was fabulous on the mound and Wilyer Abreu hit two home runs, including the go-ahead blast in the seventh inning. But Bregman’s three-run, pinch-hit homer against ex-Red Sox Drew Pomeranz to put Boston up 5-1 in the eighth was absolutely the dagger.

After the game, Bregman, who had most of the day off due to his slow build-up after returning from his quad injury, said he and assistant hitting coach Dillon Lawson noticed he was “standing more vertically” in his first few games back, and spent most of the game trying to correct the issue.

“Was in the cage with Dillon for the majority of the game, just hitting and trying to get back in the right spot mechanically after being away for like two months,” Bregman said, per Christopher Smith of MassLive.

“So tried to get back into that starting position and then swing from behind the ball… Yeah, just big credit to our hitting staff for noticing that and helping me out with it.”

So much has been made about Bregman’s veteran knowledge coming into play with other players, especially while he was injured. But it’s huge in critical spots like Sunday, when manager Alex Cora could trust him in the at-bat of the game, despite coming in ice cold off the bench.

Boston lost the series in Chicago, but Bregman’s swing was the type of moment that can define a season. And it makes it all the sweeter that the Cubs were one of the primary teams chasing him last winter in free agency.