Red Sox up to Old Tricks

Written by Cory Chandler

In beating the Colorado Rockies 13-1 Wednesday night, the Boston Red Sox extended a streak of games in which they’ve scored in the double digits to three, noted Alan Reifman, a Texas Tech University professor who studies sports streakiness.

This feat mirrors a similar streak in August in which Boston tallied double-digit runs in four consecutive games against the Chicago White Sox. It also trumped the Rockies’ own impressive streak – a closing string of 21 wins in 22 games, including a seven-game sweep of the postseason prior to Wednesday.

"The big story of game one – to me, at least – is the continuing run barrage of the Red Sox," said Reifman in his blog, The Hot Hand in Sports. "It seems the Red Sox are now up to their old tricks."

The Rockies, however, could still carry a win into home territory as the series moves to Colorado for game three. Should they win Thursday night, they would still be on track to share in the most dominant postseason performance since the advent of the three-round/wild-card play-off system in 1995.

Reifman noted that the distinction is currently shared by the 2005 Chicago White Sox and 1999 New York Yankees, which each had an 11-1 postseason record.

Reifman is a professor in Texas Tech’s Department of Human Development and Family Studies who conducts "hot hand" analysis and can speak to sports streaks and statistical probability. His blog can be found at http://thehothand.blogspot.com/.

CONTACT: Alan Reifman, professor, Human Development and Family Studies, Texas Tech University, (806) 742-3000 ext. 274, or alan.reifman@ttu.edu