​ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA — MAY 20: Tampa Bay Rays mascot DJ Kitty poses for a photo before the Rays’ matchup with the Baltimore Orioles at Tropicana Field on May 20, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
Welcome to the second half of the MLB season. The Boston Red Sox enter the post-All-Star break stretch at 46-48, but the mood around the club feels far different than it did just a few weeks ago. A nine-game winning streak to close out the first half has changed the conversation, at least for now. Instead of drifting toward the trade deadline as likely sellers, the Red Sox have given themselves a chance to make Craig Breslow seriously consider buying.
That, of course, was supposed to be the plan all along. Boston entered the season with the intention of competing, winning meaningful games, and pushing for October baseball. Now the players have to make that vision impossible for the front office to ignore. Willson Contreras has made it clear he does not want to leave, and if Sonny Gray, Aroldis Chapman, and the rest of the roster continue to perform, the Red Sox may force Breslow’s hand before the deadline arrives.
The next test comes against the Tampa Bay Rays, a team that looked dangerous early in the season before cooling off. After running through opponents in April and May, Tampa Bay came back to earth in June with a .500 month. That stretch included a three-game sweep of the Red Sox, a reminder that the Rays remain a tricky matchup even when they are not firing on all cylinders. Tampa Bay has gone 7-5 so far in July, keeping itself firmly in the mix as the second half begins.
Griffin Jax started one of those June games against Boston and worked four innings while allowing three runs, two of them earned. At the time, that outing represented his season high in innings, but the Rays have since stretched him out more consistently. He has made nine starts of at least five innings since then, including one six-inning appearance. Tampa Bay still is not asking him to pile up huge pitch counts, but the Rays clearly have a plan for how they want to build him up. In his six-inning outing, Jax needed only 71 pitches. In recent five-inning starts, he has thrown as many as 88 pitches and as few as 69.
For Boston, Jake Bennett enters the series coming off an excellent start against the Chicago White Sox. He delivered seven shutout innings, struck out four, and walked just one. It is difficult to ask for much more than that, especially from a pitcher trying to establish himself as a reliable option in a rotation that has needed stability.
The second game of the series does not yet have announced starters, which could suggest the Red Sox are considering pushing Payton Tolle into the next series in order to give him additional rest. Eduardo Rivera and Brayan Bello are both available, though that arrangement recently worked out well against the Mets. The Rays are a different challenge, and Boston cannot afford to treat them like the LOLMets, even if the Red Sox are riding momentum.
The Ian Seymour experiment has not gone as smoothly for Tampa Bay as the Jax transition. Seymour began as a true reliever, then shifted into opener work, and now has made three consecutive starts. His most recent outing came against the Seattle Mariners, when he allowed six runs in just 3.1 innings. Against Boston, however, he was much more effective, going four innings and giving up only one run. That lone run came on a solo home run by Marcelo Mayer.
Patrick Sandoval is also worth watching closely as he makes his second start for the Red Sox. His first outing in two years was encouraging enough: 4.1 innings, one run allowed, and five strikeouts. With Ranger Suárez still on the injured list for at least a few more days, Sandoval has arrived at an important time for Boston. If he can provide competent innings, the Red Sox rotation becomes deeper and more flexible at exactly the right moment.
Tampa Bay also has Shane McClanahan back from a long absence, and he is now 17 starts into his 2026 return. The Red Sox missed him during the previous series, but he has been excellent lately. McClanahan held the Yankees scoreless over 6.1 innings in his last start and also kept Kansas City off the board in the outing before that. If Boston sees him in this series, it will be facing one of the Rays’ most dangerous arms.
Sonny Gray, meanwhile, comes into the second half rested after not being selected for the All-Star Game itself. He has been everything Breslow advertised when the Red Sox brought him in: a dependable, high-level starter capable of shutting down opposing lineups. Gray has performed like a true number two starter, and Boston will need that version of him if it wants to stay in the playoff race.
One major storyline for the Rays is the status of Junior Caminero, who was hit in the hand during the All-Star Game and could miss time. That would be a significant loss for Tampa Bay, as Caminero has been outstanding this season with 28 home runs. The Rays still have other threats, including Chandler Simpson, who has stolen 22 bases but has also been caught 11 times, the most in the league. Jonathan Aranda has also been a major on-base presence with a .394 OBP.
For the Red Sox, this series is more than just another set of games against a division opponent. It is an early second-half measuring stick. If Boston wants to prove it belongs in the buyer conversation before the MLB trade deadline, it needs to keep winning now. The nine-game streak changed the tone, but the next few weeks will determine whether that surge was a turning point or just a brief hot stretch before reality set back in.