On Sunday, Boston’s bullpen blew a one-run lead on the way to a 6-5 loss — the team’s third straight loss to a Minnesota club that sits in the third AL wild-card spot despite a losing (26-27) record. The Red Sox fell back into last place in the AL East at 22-30, a position that largely reflects their MLB-worst 8-17 mark at home.
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On a rainy Sunday at Fenway, the Red Sox suffered a sweep at the hands of the Twins. Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff
The Sox repeatedly flirted with victories over the weekend but could not find a way to break through the quicksand of their home field. Sunday, when a steady rain made parts of the infield look at times like actual quicksand, was no different.
Down 6-4 in the bottom of the ninth with two Sox on base and one out, Isiah Kiner-Falefa blasted a ball to left-center. He paused at the plate to admire what he thought was the first walkoff homer of his career.
Instead, the ball clanged off the Wall for a double, with the lead runner scoring easily, but trail runner Connor Wong getting thrown out at the plate. It was the sort of far-away-so-close pivot point that can drive teams, and their fans, to madness. The Sox understand the letdown their performance is producing.
“As a group, we really want to make our fan base proud,” said Kiner-Falefa. “I felt like this series would have been a big swing with our team, the fanbase, getting the belief back and kind of going from there. So to get swept right here, [it] definitely hurts. We feel it.”
A sense of missed opportunities is forming.
The Sox have a long history of claiming one of the foremost home-field advantages in baseball. The park’s sharp angles and lopsided dimensions have often created a stage for Fenway dominance based on the ability of the team to assemble a roster that fits the park, as well as the familiarity of its players in taking advantage of its quirks.
The ability to thrive at Fenway has been a constant of Red Sox teams that reached the postseason. Of the 26 playoff editions in franchise history, all had a home winning percentage of at least .580. Last year, the Sox swam to a 48-33 record and treaded water (41-40) on the road, a formula that spelled a postseason berth.
This year, the team has been solid (14-13) on the road but horrendous at home, to an extreme that historically has spelled doom for October ambitions.
The Red Sox have never made the playoffs in a year when they lost 17 of 25 home games. They haven’t had a winning season in a year when they endured an 8-17 (or worse) home stretch since 1991. The last four times they endured such a deep 25-game Fenway rut (2022, 2020, 2014, 2012), they finished last in the AL East.
A giant American flag is dropped over the Green Monster during a ceremony for Memorial Day before the Red Sox played host to the Twins on Sunday. Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff
Already, the Sox have been swept twice at home — one more than in all of 2025. They’ve lost six of eight home series this season (1-6-1).
It’s a jarring performance, given that mere mediocrity would have positioned them well in the dismal American League. Had the Sox merely been about a .500 team at Fenway, they’d be tied for the fourth-best record in the AL. Instead, they suffered three home series losses in May to sub-.500 teams (Astros, Phillies, and Twins), unable to hold onto any waves they’ve caught on the road.
The Sox did find some encouragement in Sunday’s loss, chiefly in the form of seven extra-base hits, their most in any home game this year. Their two homers also matched a season high at Fenway. (The Sox are one of two teams in baseball, along with the Rangers, not to hit three homers in a single contest in their own ballpark this season.)
But the club’s overall performance permits little consolation in defeat. There is only a sense that the bottom line results must shift quickly, and dramatically.
“We know we have to be better,” said Kiner-Falefa. “We’ve gotta do something. What we’re doing right now is not good enough. We’ve got to do a better job.”
Alex Speier can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @alexspeier.
