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The start to the 2026 season for the Boston Red Sox has been a disappointment. It was so bad that Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow fired manager Alex Cora in April. It’s very rare that a manager gets fired in April.

After dropping two out of three at home last weekend to the Houston Astros, Boston sat in the basement, heading to Detroit for a three-game series against the Tigers. Speaking of teams that are a disappointment this year, enter the Tigers. However, before the series even began, Detroit was hit with bad news.

Two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal was scratched from his start on Monday night. It was announced that he’ll have surgery on his elbow, and he could miss two to three months. Then Gleyber Torres ended up on the injured list on Wednesday. Boston took advantage of those injuries and secured their first sweep of the season. After the game, one Boston pitcher didn’t beat around the bush about this just being the first step in rebounding from their rough start.

Boston Red Sox Pitcher Sonny Gray Drops Honest Take After Sweeping the Detroit Tigers

In Sonny Gray’s last start in April, he left early against Detroit. He ended up on the injured list, but came off, ironically, against the Tigers on Wednesday night. The veteran right-hander went five innings, scattering four hits, walking two, and striking out two. The bullpen closed the door on Detroit with four scoreless innings, allowing three hits. After the game, Gray was honest about getting ahead of themselves following the sweep of the Tigers.

“It feels good,” said Gray. “But we still have a lot of work to do.”

He’s not wrong. There is still a lot of work to do. However, going into Detroit and doing what they should have done against a banged-up team, they swept them. Boston improved to 16-21, but is now tied with the Toronto Blue Jays for last place in the American League East. For the 2026 Boston Red Sox to this point in the season, well, that’s progress.

Boston Red Sox Playing Better Under Chad Tracy

Whenever a team makes a managerial change, things tend to turn around a little bit. Is that the case with the Red Sox? Maybe, but let’s make no mistake: the roster still has flaws. Boston returns home for a homestand that begins with the Tampa Bay Rays, followed by the Philadelphia Phillies.

As usual, the low-spending Rays are surprising a lot of people and begin play on Thursday just 0.5 games behind the New York Yankees. Like Boston, the Phillies fired their manager in April, Rob Thomson. Under interim manager Don Mattingly, they are slowly turning things around in the National League East.

There is a lot of baseball left in the 2026 season. Boston is just 1.5 games behind for the final AL wild-card spot. Sure, catching lightning in a bottle is to be expected after a change in management. However, is it something that is sustainable for the Red Sox? That remains to be seen, but Gray was certainly sending a message to his teammates despite a much-needed sweep of the Tigers.