MLB July 2022 Review

The month of July always sees the first half of the Major League Baseball season come to a close, and it's followed by the Midsummer Classic, aka MLB's All-Star Game. After the festivities take place, the second half begins, and that's when the paces are really set in the pennant races. The room for error decreases once August hits, and with that said, here are the key moments that took place in July.

28-5

So...the Blue Jays had a day in Fenway. July 22, 2022 was the most embarrassing day for the Boston Red Sox, as they were shelled, 28-5, at Fenway Park by the Toronto Blue Jays. It was a game that saw the Jays score 11 of their 28 runs in the fifth inning alone, and our of their 28 runs, 19 of them were scored with two outs in an inning. You don't really see that many two-out hits in a game, let alone runs! Unlike the last time a Boston franchise went down 28-to-something in a game, there was no big miraculous comeback. This was a very low point for the Red Sox in the 2022 season, as their woes against their divisional teams continued, and it serves as the reason why they are struggling to move past the playoff line. In fact, the Red Sox will enter the month of August as the only AL East team with a losing record.

Mariners Trade for Castillo

Even though the city of Seattle lost Russell Wilson to Mile High, it has still been an amazing year or so in sports for that city. The Seattle Kraken debuted in the NHL, and they received some key players in this NHL offseason, and the Seattle Mariners are off to an amazing season. The Mariners are on pace to become playoff bound for the first time in 21 years, and to make sure they get there, they traded for ace pitcher Luis Castillo on July 29. Castillo played his entire career with the Cincinnati Reds, going 44-53 with an ERA of 3.62. This season, Castillo is 4-4 with a 2.86 ERA, miraculous numbers considering how the Reds have done this season. He will definitely provide a huge boost for the Mariners, and though they will most likely come up short when it comes to the AL West, they will definitely end their long and arduous postseason drought.

Race to the Top

The race for baseball's best record is a thrilling one between the New York Yankees, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Houston Astros. Entering the month of August, it's actually the Dodgers who hold the top record in MLB, leading by mere percentage points over the Yankees. The Bronx Bombers still hold a lead over the Astros for the American League's top record, but it's down to just two games after a tepid start to the second half. The Yankees and Astros' season series is over, with Houston going 5-2 vs New York, meaning that if the two teams finished tied for the AL's top spot, the Astros would be declared #1 and get home-field advantage in a likely ALCS matchup. The Dodgers do not face either AL team during the regular season, but despite this, the final two months will feature a spectacular race for MLB's best record.

Those are July's highlights, and the calendar turns to August--the last month before the true last month of the season. The next 31 days will determine what teams are ready for September, which will determine who participates in the postseason party.

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