The blockbuster trade of Boston Celtics star guard Jaylen Brown was a painful one for sports fans around Boston, but another team in town has offered a coincidental silver lining to hurting fans -- the Boston Red Sox haven't stopped winning since.
At 6:13 p.m. ET on July 1, ESPN's Shams Charania broke the news that Brown was being dealt to the Philadelphia 76ers in a deal that sent Paul George and picks back to the Celtics. At that point, the Red Sox were in a rut. Their loss to the Washington Nationals earlier in the day had put the team 11 games under .500, sitting in last place in the American League East.
Boston had the day off on July 2 before getting back underway on a road swing that would take them through the All-Star break.
And on that road trip, the Red Sox were red-hot. They swept the Los Angeles Angels, Chicago White Sox and New York Mets in rapid succession, with a plus-34 run differential across their nine-game win streak. The undefeated run is tied for the third-longest in MLB this season.
DraftKings and NESN's Lucy Burdge pointed out the coincidental tie-in between Brown's departure and the Red Sox's resurgence.
The American League-leading play of the Tampa Bay Rays means that even with Boston's surging record (in addition to the win streak, Boston has boasted a 14-2 mark since June 25) the Red Sox still sit 10 games back in the AL East. But Boston has quickly made up ground in the wild-card picture -- they're just a half-game back of the final spot -- and you'd be hard pressed to find a team leaving the All-Star break with more momentum.
Interestingly, the Red Sox can claim to be something of specialists at pre-All Star win streaks. Per Elias Sports Bureau, Boston is the first team in MLB history to enter the All-Star break on a win streak of nine or more in consecutive seasons -- in 2025, it entered on a 10-game win streak.
