Red Sox Fall To Worst 40-Game Start In Decades After Loss To Rays

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The Boston Red Sox reached a significant milestone on Sunday with their 40th game of the season, hitting the quarter mark of their season.

Unfortunately, it hasn't been a good first quarter for the stumbling Red Sox, who lost again with a 4-1 home defeat to the Tampa Bay Rays on Mother's Day.

The loss dropped Boston to 17-23 and last place in the AL East. According to USA TODAY's Bob Nightengale, it's the Red Sox's worst 40-game start since 1997.

That's a bad sign for Boston, which finished 1997 fourth in the AL East with a 78-84 record. According to FanGraphs, its playoff odds are just 29.6 percent entering play on Monday.

The Boston Red Sox's 4-1 loss to the Rays leaves them with a 17-23 record.
It's the first time in a full season the Red Sox have won 17 or fewer games in the first 40 games of a season since 1997.— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) May 10, 2026

The Red Sox are pitching well and playing good defense, but they continue to flounder offensively, scoring just three runs over their last two games combined. Boston ranks 27th in scoring at 3.90 runs per game, 28th in home runs, 29th in slugging percentage and 28th in OPS.

The Red Sox have also weirdly struggled at Fenway Park, losing two of three there over the weekend. They're 7-12 at home this season and averaging just 2.94 runs per game there.

The good news is that Boston still has three quarters of a season left to turn things around, starting Tuesday at home against the Philadelphia Phillies. The bad news is that the Phillies are one of the hottest teams in baseball after winning 10 of their last 13 games.

More MLB: Why 2026 Red Sox Are Complete Anomaly Compared To Previous Seasons