Stop pretending the 2026 Red Sox are just having a bad stretch. They’re walking in the exact footsteps of the 2009 Colorado Rockies, and that’s a terrifying thought for anyone who bleeds red. The pattern started when Chad Tracy took over the squad after Alex Cora got fired in late April. His father, Jim Tracy, did the same thing for the 2009 Rockies when they let go of Clint Hurdle in late May. It feels like a bad joke, but the stats prove it is real.
The numbers from Over the Monster show a plunge that matches history. The 2026 Red Sox hit bottom at 14 games under .500 in late June. The 2009 Rockies were at 12 games under .500 in early June before they turned it around. Both teams went on massive runs after hitting rock bottom. The 2009 Rockies won 17 of 18 games to save their season. We are seeing a delayed bounce back now, but the kindred spirits of these journeys are hard to ignore.
The Swing Change Coincidence
Here is where the story gets weird and scary for the current roster. On May 24, Caleb Durbin was hitting .163 with a .479 OPS. He sat out for three days, fixed his swing, and came back on May 28 hitting .303. That is a nearly .400 point jump in OPS that saved his season.
Now look at Troy Tulowitzki in 2009. He was hitting .218 with a .691 OPS on June 2. He also sat for three days, changed his stance, and returned on June 6. Tulowitzki finished that year with a .331 average and a 1.035 OPS. That was a .344 point bump in OPS that carried the Rockies to the playoffs. The dates, the slumps, the three-day breaks, and the massive OPS jumps are almost identical. This isn’t a vague similarity; it’s a specific, repeatable script that both teams are following down to the day. If the 2026 Red Sox are copying this path, they might be about to go on a huge run.
A Walk-Off That Haunts The Team
But the scary part is that the 2009 Rockies did not just win games. They had a legendary moment that defined their season. In the bottom of the 14th inning, Ryan Spilborghs hit a walk-off grand slam on August 24, 2009. The Giants had scored three runs in the top half, but the Rockies answered with five runs in the bottom. Spilborghs capped off that five-run inning with a slam to win the game 5-4 in 10 innings.
For nearly two decades, people have argued that this was the greatest game ever played in August. The box score shows a relief pitcher named Adam Eaton coming up to bat right before Spilborghs. The 2026 Red Sox are currently on a five-game losing streak. The comparison to that 2009 team is getting stronger every day. If history repeats itself, the Red Sox need to prepare for a wild finish. The 2009 Rockies proved that a team can bottom out and then fly. The 2026 Red Sox are shadowing them perfectly, and the fans should be ready for anything.
