We tend to judge offenses by their superstars. The Yankees are fearsome because of Aaron Judge and Juan Soto. The Orioles go with Gunnar Henderson. MVP candidate Bobby Witt Jr. has transformed the Royals practically by himself.
Outside of Rafael Devers, the Red Sox don't boast any immediately recognizable standouts. Jarren Duran just made his first All-Star team, Tyler O'Neill fell off everyone's radar during some injury-plagued seasons in St. Louis, and Wilyer Abreu is a rookie whose numbers are depressed because he fell down the dugout steps.
But don't let that lack of star power fool you, because the Red Sox have inexorably built one of the best offenses in baseball, a dynamic group that is punishing opponents not just on the bases, but suddenly with the long ball, too.
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Where the starting pitching carried the club for the first two months, it's now easy to envision the lineup taking the team to the playoffs.
Monday's 9-5 victory over the Royals provided the latest evidence. The Red Sox weren't exactly efficient, but they were relentless. They pounded 18 hits, finally breaking through in the sixth, when Duran laced a two-run, left-on-left double down the left field line to break a 2-2 tie.
Romy Gonzalez broke things open an inning later with a two-run homer, and the Red Sox rolled to within a game and a half of the Royals in the race for the final wild card, with two more to play in Kansas City.
"We had a humble approach, to be honest with you," manager Alex Cora told reporters, including Julian McWilliams of The Boston Globe. "We hit the ball all over the place and we ran the bases well. The kids did an amazing job at the bottom of the lineup. We just kept putting pressure on them."
The numbers since the All-Star break speak for themselves. The Red Sox lead baseball in runs (107), hits (189), batting average (.309), slugging (.555), and OPS (.921). They're second to the Yankees in homers (30 to 29) and OBP (.367 to .366), and they're top five in steals, too, with 20 swipes in 22 attempts.
For all the talk about chief baseball officer Craig Breslow failing to upgrade the attack with a better right-handed bat than Danny Jansen, offense is not now a problem, nor does it project to be one.
While it's true that the Red Sox have had their struggles against left-handed starters, it's also true that they just won't face many of them should they make the playoffs. The Mariners and Twins are all right-handed, the Orioles (Cole Irvin) and Guardians (Logan Allen) probably wouldn't start either of their lefties in the postseason, and the Red Sox have hit New York's Nestor Cortes and Carlos Rodón. That leaves Kansas City's Cole Ragans and Houston's Framber Valdez. That's workable.
What's most impressive about the current offense is how it's coming from everywhere.
Devers is pushing a 1.000 OPS for the first time in his career. Duran's exploits keep earning crazy comparisons to Hall of Famers like Kiki Cuyler. Abreu is an emerging force. Dominic Smith is hitting rockets. Even maligned DH Masataka Yoshida has caught fire, raising his average 40 points in a little over a month.
The right-handed reserves, Rob Refsnyder, Gonzalez, and Jansen, have combined to hit .305 with 10 homers in just over 300 at-bats. They might even get slugging first baseman Triston Casas back at some point.
That's an offense that's built to win in October, when the ability to manufacture runs can win a close game. The Red Sox are 13-7 in one-run games, a testament not only to the back of their bullpen, but their propensity for finding a way.
That's a skill that should continue to serve them well as they make their playoff push.
