Having won eight of their last 10 games, the Boston Red Sox have finally gained some momentum this season. But the universe appears to be conspiring against them. For the second time in less than two weeks, flight and travel issues disrupted the Red Sox’s plans. As the team remained stranded in Chicago, it nearly cost them their series opener against the New York Mets at Citi Field. After finally arriving in New York, interim manager Chad Tracy shed some light on what had happened.

“We made it. We’re here,” a relieved Tracy said, per Tim Healey of The Boston Globe.

Originally scheduled to depart on Thursday night, the Red Sox reached the visitors’ clubhouse only a little more than two hours before first pitch. Considering the unexpected circumstances, MLB rescheduled the first pitch for 7:50 P.M., pushing it back 35 minutes. Thrown into a 22-hour-long flight mess, the Red Sox ran on pure adrenaline to take the series opener 6-2 against the Mets.

For the Red Sox, trouble began when they reached Midway International Airport after sweeping the Chicago White Sox. They were hit with a delayed takeoff because of thunderstorms in New York. If the Red Sox thought that was the end of their troubles, they were gravely mistaken.

When it was finally time to go, more problems arose. On the runway, the tow cart moving the plane faced some mechanical issues, delaying them further.

According to The Boston Globe, Tracy explained, “That turned into, I think, six-plus hours of sitting there waiting to see if we could get another plane or what.”

They didn’t get another plane and by 1 a.m., decided to return and spend the night in downtown Chicago. Travel head Mark Cacciatore effectively secured enough rooms for the team across two hotels for the night.

“Give Cacc a lot of credit,” Tracy added. “He got a lot of people rooms on pretty much no notice, and they were close enough to each other that we coordinated buses in the morning and ended up getting to the airport.”

The Red Sox’s rescheduled flight was on Friday morning, and they were supposed to arrive by afternoon. It would have given them the time to settle down and get some rest before the game. But instead of arriving in New York, their flight took off in the afternoon.

The reason this time? Issues with cockpit switches.

“Something with one of the switches or light bulbs in the cockpit was also an issue,” Tracy reportedly said.

The latest set of events wiped out any chance of the Boston team making a timely arrival. Initially announced as an indefinite delay, the repair took three hours. A bewildered Red Sox team can only laugh at it.

“At one point, we just looked at each other and started laughing because it was just ridiculous,” Payton Tolle said, per The Boston Globe. “Wow, what’s going on?”

The wild sequence of events finally came to an end as they landed in New York. In fact, in the last two weeks, the team’s travels have been quite adventurous.

Their flight turned around on June 24, half an hour after takeoff, when they were returning to Boston after facing the Colorado Rockies. The Red Sox arrived in Boston at dawn on June 25, ready to begin their homestand against the rival New York Yankees. They swept the series. However, it was not nearly as bad as this time. But the Red Sox still came out on top.

Sonny Gray opened the Mets series with a victory for the Red Sox

The 36-year-old has been one of the most successful additions Craig Breslow made to Boston’s roster in the offseason. Despite not becoming an All-Star this year, Gray holds the best pitching numbers in the rotation. Even nightmarish travel woes could not derail his dominant season.

Acquired from the St Louis Cardinals in a trade, Gray recorded his eleventh win of the season on Friday. He pitched a dominant six innings, extending the Red Sox’s winning streak to seven.

Gray allowed only one run to Brett Baty on a Juan Soto sacrifice fly in the third inning. He also struck out three while issuing 5 hits and a walk.

As Gray took his latest win, it dropped his ERA to 2.54 across 17 starts.

The Red Sox’s offense was driven by a pair of home runs from Anthony Seigler and Wilyer Abreu. However, it was Masataka Yoshida who gave the team an early lead with a two-run double in the first inning. He went 2-for-4.

Despite the unexpected travel ordeal, the Red Sox ultimately made it. Hopefully, with the disruptions now behind them, Boston will hope to keep its recent momentum intact as it heads into the All-Star break.