Red Sox Tie 126-Year Low in Brutal Start to 2026 Season

Things aren't going well over in Boston for the Red Sox.

Boston entered the 2026 Major League Baseball season as one of the league's most polarizing teams. Shortly after Opening Day, ESPN had Boston ranked as the No. 9 overall team in the league, but also one of the five most polarizing. So far, this has proved to be correct. Despite plenty of talent, the Red Sox have the worst record in baseball at 2-8.

Boston has been historically bad to kick off the campaign. This is just the ninth time in the 126-year history that Boston has started 2-8, according to USA Today's Bob Nightengale.

"For the ninth time in the 126-year history of the Boston Red Sox, they have started a season with a 2-8 record after the first ten games of the season," Nightengale wrote.

The Red Sox are in disaster territory

Apr 29, 2021; Arlington, Texas, USA; A view of the Boston Red Sox logo and a field bag during batting practice before the game between the Texas Rangers and the Boston Red Sox at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Shocking, to say the least. Boston is riding its second three-game losing streak of the season. Boston won its first game of the season on Opening Day and then followed up with a five-game losing streak. Boston snapped the streak on April 3 against the San Diego Padres but has followed up with three straight losses, including two straight by a score of 8-6.

Simply put, the 2026 season has been a shock for a team that didn't need one. The offseason was polarizing enough. On paper, it was a good one with Sonny Gray, Ranger Suárez, Caleb Durbin and Willson Contreras coming to town. But the Red Sox lost Alex Bregman in free agency to the Chicago Cubs and that certainly led to some bad public relations. The Red Sox arguably responded well after losing Bregman, but still, there are plenty of people out there talking about the former Boston third baseman. In fact, over the last year, the Red Sox lost Bregman and traded Rafael Devers away.

That's a lot of talent out the door and two different fan favorites. The Devers trade has essentially been a failure, outside of getting his contract off the books. Bregman, the replacement, lasted one year in town. Now, with both gone, Boston has the worst record in the league. There's plenty of time to turn things around, but this start is the worst-case scenario for an organization that didn't need any more bad public relations.

It's early to say a club "needs" a win. But that's the case with Boston on Tuesday night against the Milwaukee Brewers.