The 2016 Boston Red Sox season was the 116th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished first in the American League East for the first of three consecutive seasons with a record of 93–69. In the postseason, the team was swept by the American League Central champion Cleveland Indians in the ALDS. This was the final season for 3-time World Series champion David Ortiz.
Offseason
October 2015 On October 22, 2015, in followup to the August 2015 announcement by NESN that longtime play-by-play announcer Don Orsillo would be replaced for the 2016 season by Dave O'Brien, NESN further announced that the color analyst position would be filled with a combination of Jerry Remy, Dennis Eckersley and Steve Lyons. On October 25, 2015, the Red Sox hired former Philadelphia Phillies general manager Rubén Amaro Jr. as their first base coach. He replaces Arnie Beyeler.
November 2015 On November 8, 2015, the Red Sox re-signed catcher Sandy León to a one-year, $534K deal, but subsequently outrighted him along with Allen Craig, Jean Machi and Alexi Ogando. On November 13, 2015, the Red Sox traded top prospects SS Javier Guerra and OF Manuel Margot, along with prospects LHP Logan Allen and IF Carlos Asuaje, to the San Diego Padres for RHP closer Craig Kimbrel.
December 2015 On December 2, 2015, the Red Sox signed OF Chris Young to a two-year, $13M deal. On December 4, 2015, the Red Sox signed LHP David Price to a seven-year, $217M deal. The contract includes an opt-out clause after the 2018 season. On December 7, 2015, the Red Sox traded LHP Wade Miley and RHP Jonathan Aro to the Seattle Mariners for RHP Carson Smith and LHP Roenis Elías.
Regular season
Opening Day, April 5 in Cleveland The opening day game, scheduled for April 4, was postponed to April 5, due to cold weather. The game was called two hours prior to game time.
On April 5, in his Red Sox debut, David Price struck out ten Indians batters and earned the win. He became the fifth Red Sox pitcher to win an opening day game in his debut for the ball club and the first since Pedro Martínez did it in 1998. Mookie Betts went deep in the third inning, scoring Jackie Bradley Jr. and gave Boston an early 2–0 lead. In a four-hit inning, Cleveland brought two runners home and the game was tied at two in the bottom of the fourth. In the sixth, on a Travis Shaw single, Hanley Ramírez took third base from first, and scored on a Brock Holt blooper to left field. Travis Shaw took third on a Blake Swihart ground out and scored on a wild pitch by Corey Kluber. Junichi Tazawa and Koji Uehara retired all batters they faced in the seventh and eighth respectively and with Craig Kimbrel warming in the bullpen and Dustin Pedroia on first, David Ortiz hit his fifth opening day home run of his career, extending the lead to 6–2. Although not a save situation, Kimbrel made his Red Sox debut in the ninth and shut the door, allowing a walk and striking out two.
Opening Day lineup
50 Mookie Betts RF15 Dustin Pedroia 2B 2 Xander Bogaerts SS34 David Ortiz DH13 Hanley Ramírez 1B47 Travis Shaw 3B12 Brock Holt LF23 Blake Swihart C25 Jackie Bradley Jr. CF24 David Price P
April April 6–7, in Cleveland The series in Cleveland ended on a sour note after Red Sox reliever Junichi Tazawa let up a game-winning home run to former Red Sox first baseman Mike Napoli, who was influential in the Sox's 2013 World Series run. The April 7 game was postponed due to rain, and rescheduled for August 15. Red Sox split the series 1–1 (12–9 runs) April 8–10, in Toronto In the series opener, Joe Kelly was rocked for 7 earned runs in 3 innings, leaving the Red Sox in a big hole due to Josh Donaldson's grand slam, but Brock Holt would hit a grand slam of his own and the Sox would win the game after a furious comeback effort. The next day, the Red Sox tagged knuckleballer R. A. Dickey for 7 runs to improve to 3–1. However, the Sox lost the third game of the series as two runs given up by Steven Wright in the first inning proved to make all the difference as the Red Sox failed to score 6+ runs in a game for the first time this season. Red Sox won the series 2–1 (16–14 runs) April 11–13, vs. Baltimore The Red Sox then came home to face the undefeated Orioles. David Price underperformed in his Boston home opener, giving up 5 runs in the third after the Sox jumped out to an early 3–0 lead, but it was Craig Kimbrel who took the loss after giving up a 3-run homer to Chris Davis to break a 6–6 tie in the top of the 9th. On the 12th, the Orioles' bats outperformed Boston's as Mike Wright and Clay Buchholz both failed to pitch 6 innings. In the series finale, the Red Sox finally gave Baltimore its first loss on the season as the bullpen proved to be strong, holding a 2-run lead for four innings. Red Sox lost the series 1–2 (16–20 runs) April 15–18, vs. Toronto Catcher Christian Vazquez returned to the Red Sox lineup for the first time since 2014 after undergoing Tommy John surgery, going 2-for-4 and making some great defensive plays. Travis Shaw's 2 2-out RBI made the difference as the Sox backed Porcello for a win. David Price earned his first home win the next day after his solid pitching was supported by Xander Bogaerts's 3-run home run. But much like the previous weekend, the Sox dropped the third game of the series after the offense went cold to give Steven Wright another loss despite only giving up 2 runs in 6 innings. On Patriots' Day, Clay Buchholz had one of his best career outings, but it was spoiled after Koji Uehara and the bullpen combined to give up 4 runs in the eighth. Red Sox split the series 2–2 (15–14 runs) April 19–21, vs. Tampa Bay Drew Smyly held the Red Sox to 1 hit, getting out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the third inning, which would prove to be important as the Rays won, 3–0, in 10 innings after neither team scored through 9. But the Sox would rebound by scoring 6 runs off of Tampa Bay ace Chris Archer, who was struggling mightily to open the season. David Price pitched poorly in the rubber match; after the Red Sox jumped out to a 5–1 lead in the first inning, Price gave up 7 runs and the offense was unable to keep up with the bullpen's poor work in a Red Sox loss that had many fans questioning John Farrell's decision-making skills as a manager. Red Sox lost the series 1–2 (15–18 runs) April 22–24, in Houston The Red Sox were finally able to give Steven Wright run support as Mookie Betts finished a homer shy of the cycle in the Red Sox's 6–2 win. The next day, Clay Buchholz's instability was exposed as he gave up a game-winning grand slam to Colby Rasmus in the 6th inning of the Red Sox's loss. The Red Sox would win the rubber match in 12 innings. Craig Kimbrel blew the save opportunity as Colby Rasmus hit another home run against the Red Sox to tie the game, but Heath Hembree pitched 3 scoreless innings and Jackie Bradley Jr. drove in 2 runs in the 12th to seal the series victory for the Red Sox. Red Sox won the series 2–1 (16–15 runs) April 25–28, in/vs. Atlanta Coming in late to a home-and-home 4-game series against the league's worst team, the Red Sox bats were unable to score against Braves ace Julio Teherán. Jackie Bradley Jr.'s home run was the only run scored by either team in the game as Rick Porcello fired 6.1 scoreless innings. But the bats would reawaken the next day as the Red Sox scored 11 runs. David Price excelled in the Red Sox's win, giving up 2 runs over 8 innings. The teams returned to Boston and Dustin Pedroia's grand slam aided Steven Wright, who finished the day with the third best ERA in the American League (after Jordan Zimmermann and Mat Latos), in the Red Sox's 9–4 win. However, Clay Buchholz could not keep the strong pitching going as he gave up 5 runs in a 5–3 loss. Red Sox won the series 3–1 (24–13 runs) April 29–30, vs. New York The Red Sox entered their first of 6 series against their arch-rivals as Henry Owens started against Yankees ace Masahiro Tanaka. Owens struggled with command throughout the game, but he only gave up 2 runs. The Red Sox offense remained scoreless until the 7th inning, when Jackie Bradley Jr. continued his week of clutch hitting with a first-pitch 2 RBI double off the Green Monster. But the offense continued to perform well when David Ortiz hit a towering 2-run home run to center off of elite setup man Dellin Betances, who had a sub-1.00 ERA and a 20 K/9 rate entering the game. Koji Uehara and Craig Kimbrel retired the last 6 batters to preserve Boston's 4–2 win. Rick Porcello went 7 shutout innings to improve to 5–0 and Robbie Ross Jr. and Junichi Tazawa held New York scoreless in an 8–0 win to wrap up the month of April.
Composite line score April
*Extra innings without runs are not displayed
May May 1, vs. New York (cont.) The Red Sox completed the three-game sweep with the help of a Christian Vázquez home run in the seventh off of Dellin Betances, who posted an 0.9 ERA and 0.8 WHIP before the series. David Price gave up six earned runs but improved to 4–0 on the season with a 6.14 ERA and a 2.88 FIP. Red Sox won the series 3–0 (20–9 runs) May 3–5, in Chicago Coming into the series, the White Sox had the best record and the best pitching staff in the AL. That good pitching showed up in the first game, with Quintana only giving up one run in eight innings of work, wasting another good start of Steven Wright, who gave up two runs in six innings. Boston took a five inning lead in the second game, off of a David Ortiz home run, earning the first win for Clay Buchholz. Craig Kimbrel preserved the 5–2 win with his ninth save. In game three, the Red Sox scored in each of the first three innings and never looked back, taking the rubber match 7–3. Red Sox won the series 2–1 (13–9 runs) May 6–8, in the Bronx With the bases loaded and one out in a one-run game, David Ortiz was called out on strikes on a 3–2 pitch below the knees in the top of the ninth. Ortiz and John Farrell were both ejected, arguing the calls made by home plate umpire Ron Kulpa. Rick Porcello was charged with his first loss of the season. The following day, David Price gave up six runs and also lost his first game in a 1–8 effort. Steven Wright pitched a complete three-hit, one-run game to avoid the sweep. All six runs of the game were scored on the long ball, with David Ortiz going deep twice. Red Sox lost the series 1–2 (9–12 runs) May 9–11, vs. Oakland Down 1–4 after three innings, the Red Sox put up a six-spot in the fourth, chasing Oakland's ace Sonny Gray from the game, and continued to score in the next three innings for another seven runs. Jackie Bradley Jr. hit his first career grand slam and earned six RBI. In game two, Sean O'Sullivan made his first start for Boston. Despite giving up 12 hits, he made it through the sixth and earned the win. Boston gave him 13 runs of support, 11 in the first five innings. Hanley Ramírez hit the second longest home run of the season thus far, estimated at 468 feet, over the far end of the green monster. Travis Shaw drove in five runs. Rick Porcello continued his strong season with another good outing, going innings with six hits and 3 runs allowed. The bats stayed hot, scoring eleven runs from the second through the sixth inning. Jackie Bradley Jr. hit two long balls and drove in another six runs. The Red Sox and Athletics combined for 82 hits in the series, with Boston out-hitting the A's 48–34. With three games with 13+ runs scored, the Red Sox became the seventh team in Major League history to do so and the first since the 1999 Cleveland Indians. Red Sox won the series 3–0 (40–15 runs) May 12–15, vs. Houston