Why Have Red Sox Been So Bad At Fenway Park This Year? originally appeared on NESN.
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After getting swept by the Minnesota Twins at Fenway Park over the weekend, the Boston Red Sox are now 8-17 with a minus-23 run differential at home this year. That’s the worst home record in baseball.
The Red Sox are 4-14 over their last 18 games at Fenway and have only won one series there this season, which seems unthinkable for a team that’s historically dominated at home, including as recently as last year. Boston was one of the best home teams in baseball last season, going 48-33 at Fenway in 2025.
Unfortunately, that success has not carried over into 2026.
Why not? One theory is that the Red Sox’s strategy of run prevention isn’t well-suited to Fenway Park, which is one of the best hitter’s parks in baseball. Winning there typically requires hitting for power and scoring lots of runs, two things the current team isn’t built to do.
After losing Rafael Devers and Alex Bregman in the last calendar year, Boston lacks elite power hitters and right-handed bats. That makes it tough to score runs and win at Fenway, where the Red Sox are averaging just 2.96 runs per game and batting a measly .224/.302/.337 this season.
Why are the Red Sox so bad at home?@FelgerAndMazz@bigjimmurray@TonyMassarotti@MichaelSHolleypic.twitter.com/CAA2j9ugPE
— 98.5 The Sports Hub (@985TheSportsHub) May 26, 2026
“The Boston Red Sox, even when they have mediocre teams, should be good at home, because they have a quirky ballpark,” NBC Sports analyst Michael Holley said on 98.5 The Sports Hub on Tuesday. “And if you have common sense, you build your team around the quirky ballpark that you have.”
Boston didn’t do that this season, and it shows. The Red Sox have a winning record on the road but a .320 winning percentage at home, so that needs to improve dramatically if they want to turn their season around.
More MLB: Red Sox Continue Historic Struggles At Fenway Park After Sweep By Twins