Almost everything has gone wrong for the 2026 Red Sox. Emphasis on almost.
With a 3-1 loss to the Phillies on Thursday night, the Sox occupy last place in the American League East, 10½ games behind the first-place Rays. Yet their playoff hopes haven’t receded completely from view thanks to a vast wasteland of league mediocrity in an era of expanded playoffs.
To this point, the 2026 American League has a significant claim to being amidst the worst start ever by a league. Every team entered Thursday having played at least 42 games. At the 42-game marker, just three teams (Rays, 28-14; Yankees, 26-16; Athletics, 22-20) were over .500.
How rare is that? Since the introduction of the wild card in 1995, this is the first time either league has had only three teams above .500 through 42 games.
Read more from Alex Speier at BostonGlobe.com/Sports. | 
