Red Sox Win 15th Straight, Tie Franchise Record

At the start of July, the Boston Red Sox were 3.5 games back of a Wild Card spot and 14.5 games behind the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays. Fifteen straight wins later, Boston has sole possession of the final Wild Card spot and trails the Rays by just six games.

Looking to extend their streak to 15, Red Sox manager Chad Tracy turned to left-hander Jake Bennett to face the Baltimore Orioles in the first game of a doubleheader. The 6-foot-6 rookie continued his strong start to the season, allowing three earned runs on nine hits while striking out four over 5.2 innings to earn his sixth win of the year. Bennett lowered his ERA to 2.58 and his WHIP to an impressive 0.94.

Boston's offense came out of the gates hot as singles from Masataka Yoshida, Ceddanne Rafaela, and Willson Contreras loaded the bases for the red-hot Caleb Durbin, who ripped a two-run single. Jarren Duran added to the lead before the end of the 1st inning with a triple into right field that scored Contreras and Durbin.

The Orioles broke Bennett's shutout in the top of the 3rd inning on a Tyler O'Neill double, but Boston responded in the bottom half of the inning when Duran's sacrifice fly brought home Durbin for his third RBI of the game.

The two teams traded runs again in the 4th inning as Christian Encarnacion-Strand launched a 424-foot home run to center field, cutting Boston's lead to three. Rafaela answered in the bottom half with a home run off Dean Kremer that landed in the Green Monster seats in left-center, restoring the Red Sox's four-run advantage.

Bennett allowed his third and final run in the top of the 6th inning when Encarnacion-Strand drove in another run, making it 6-3. Boston's bullpen slammed the door over the final 3.1 innings as Justin Slaten, Garrett Whitlock, and closer Aroldis Chapman combined to allow just two hits. Chapman recorded his 23rd save of the season, tying him for sixth in Major League Baseball.

The Red Sox's 15th straight win ties the longest winning streak in franchise history, matching the mark set in 1946. The second game of the doubleheader is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET, with Eduardo Rivera taking the mound for Boston against Baltimore's Kyle Bradish.

Boston's remarkable run is even more impressive considering the club has been without ace Garrett Crochet, who has been sidelined since April with left shoulder inflammation. Not long ago, trade rumors surrounded Chapman as it appeared the Red Sox would be sellers at the deadline. Instead, Boston has completely changed the conversation and now finds itself firmly in the American League playoff picture.