BOSTON — The Boston Red Sox did something on Wednesday that they haven’t done in 21 days: Lose.

After the Baltimore Orioles pounced on Red Sox rookie starter Eduardo Rivera for four runs in the first inning, the Boston couldn’t muster one of its magical comebacks that has been customary in recent weeks.

The Red Sox fell to the Orioles, 5-1, in the second game of a Wednesday doubleheader, snapping their win streak at 15 and costing them a chance to set a franchise record of 16 straight.

Earlier in the day, a 6-3 win over Baltimore helped the Red Sox tie the longest win streak in club history, set in 1946 by a Ted Williams-led team that went to the World Series. Now, this 2026 team will sit alongside that group in the history books.

In the midst of their improbable streak, the Red Sox had swept three straight road series before the All-Star break, besting the Los Angeles Angeles, Chicago White Sox and New York Mets. They returned to action with a four-game sweep of the American League East-leading Tampa Bay Rays, and had taken the first two games against Baltimore. The had not lost a game since July 1.

Rivera, the rookie pitcher, started in place of veteran Ranger Suarez, who was set to return Wednesday from a stint on the injured list. But Suarez, who had been dealing with a groin strain, fell ill earlier in the week. That illness — coupled with a few intense workouts as he tried to prepare for a return — set him back. The Red Sox turned to Rivera, who pitched well before the break, but struggled in his most recent outing Friday. It was more of the same Wednesday. Rivera recorded just two outs and was booed as he headed back to the dugout. The Red Sox then turned to beleaguered right-hander Brayan Bello in long relief.

Bello, who had been a rotation mainstay but was demoted to Triple A earlier this season after a rough start, had been called up as a long reliever before the break. He hadn’t pitched since July 12, but tossed 5⅓ scoreless innings on Wednesday to keep the Red Sox in the game.

The Red Sox had shown a remarkable ability for comebacks during this stretch. Six of their 15 wins during the streak were of the come-from-behind variety. They’d rallied from a deficit in four of their previous five games.

It wasn’t the case Wednesday, though. In the fourth, Willson Contreras hit a ground-rule double and scored on Masataka Yoshida’s RBI single, but that’s all the Red Sox could muster. Boston’s resilient bats had little to show against Kyle Bradish, who tossed six innings and allowed one run.

Still, this 15-game win streak, the longest in the majors since St. Louis’ 17-game streak in 2021, may have saved Boston’s season.

On June 24, the Red Sox owned the worst record in the American League at 32-46, 14 games under .500. Since then, they’ve reeled off wins in 20 of 23 games and now sit squarely in third place for the AL wild card.

What they do from here will be key. With 11 days before the Aug. 3 trade deadline, Boston has proven it is a team worthy of adding to. The Red Sox are off Thursday before three games this weekend against the struggling Toronto Blue Jays, against whom they’ll try to restart another stretch of wins.

Phil Foden has signed a new four-year contract at Manchester City that will keep him at the club until 2030, with an option to extend by a further 12 months.

Foden, 26, is considered a central part of the team under new manager Enzo Maresca and discussions had been taking place since the back end of 2025.

The news was exclusively revealed by The Athletic at the start of May, with Foden enlisting the help of agent Rafaela Pimenta, who also looks after City team-mate Erling Haaland, to negotiate fresh terms at the Etihad.

“Committing my future to City means everything to me,” Foden said of his extension.

“Playing for this club is all I’ve ever wanted to do and it’s always an honour to wear the shirt. It’s not lost on me that I’ve been lucky enough to be part of a historic period with so many titles won, but we’re always looking to the future and trying to win more.”

His contract had been set to expire next summer and there had been some speculation about whether City would be in a position to commit to their academy graduate, given he was often left out of the starting line-up over the past two seasons.

Foden has suffered different physical ailments and last year discussed the mental toll that a difficult season had taken on him.

He did not make Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for the World Cup after a second disappointing campaign, but City have put their faith in the player that first started training with the club at six years of age.

Last season Foden made 50 appearances in all competitions for City and four for England over two World Cup qualifiers and two March friendlies.

City have full faith in Foden despite form struggles

Pre-season is a time for optimism and this announcement will go some way to kick-starting City’s preparations for the new campaign, with the club flying out to Hong Kong next week, before heading to Seoul, South Korea.

After two difficult seasons for Foden, so difficult in fact that this new contract does represent something of a leap of faith, there will be hope that the midfielder has put his problems behind him and can get back to his best form.

He was spectacular in the final months of the 2023-24 season and was named footballer of the year as a result, but he has only fleetingly replicated those performances since.

Some of his best form came in November and December of last year, but things went downhill thereafter and he looked shorn of confidence when on the pitch, and he was regularly left out.

With Foden missing out on the World Cup as a result, and City sending more players to the tournament than any other club, he will be one of relatively few first-team players available to Maresca during the trip to Asia.

They play Inter in Hong Kong on Saturday, August 1 before facing K-League All Stars and Atletico Madrid in Seoul, and Foden has the opportunity to get a head start on many of his team-mates as he looks to get back to his best form.

Pimenta, having negotiated the new contract, will continue to work with Foden and her services could come in handy for a player who has regularly changed representatives over the past few years. An experienced, strong presence in that area could be something that makes a difference when it comes to off-pitch matters.

Foden had seemed to realise his vast potential with those fine performances at the end of 2023-24 but it has been a battle to return to those highs ever since. City have full faith that he will get there.