When the Streak Breaks: Rivera’s First-Inning Collapse Ends Boston’s 15-Game Run

All winning streaks end. The question is always how—with a whimper or a bang, on the road or at home, against a contender or a team you should beat. The Red Sox 15-game winning streak ended on July 22 at Fenway Park in the worst possible way: Eduardo Rivera couldn’t make it out of the first inning in game two of a doubleheader against Baltimore.

That’s the takeaway here. Not that losing games happens—every team does—but that this particular loss exposes a fragility in the Boston rotation that Craig Breslow and Alex Cora have been masking with remarkable starting pitching all month. The streak was built on dominant arms taking the ball with purpose. Rivera was supposed to continue that. He didn’t. One inning of work in a doubleheader game is damning, regardless of whether Baltimore’s early offense was a blip or a sign of things to come.

The math is brutal: you can’t win 15 straight if your fourth or fifth starter implodes before you’ve recorded nine outs. The Red Sox built their streak on depth and consistency, leaning on guys like Sonny Gray and Brayan Bello to set the tone. That only works if the entire staff is locked in. Rivera’s collapse suggests the depth isn’t as reliable as the last two weeks implied.

Here’s what matters going forward: is this a single bad outing, or is Rivera trending down? In a doubleheader situation against a division rival, you need a competent starter to eat innings and keep the score manageable. That didn’t happen. Now the bullpen was likely taxed, now you’re potentially playing from behind, now the momentum that carried you through 15 straight is gone.

Streaks are fun. They mask real problems sometimes. The Red Sox were exceptional for 15 games, and that’s legitimate. But losing in this manner—to poor starting pitching in a spot where you need professionalism—suggests there’s real work to do in the rotation before October matters.

Based on reporting from Over The Monster.