Red Sox set record for most wins before All-Star break

With their 6-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays, the Boston Red Sox set the Major League Baseball record for most victories before the All-Star break, improving their record to 66-29.

The record was previously held by the 1969 Baltimore Orioles.

Thursday's contest marks the 10th straight victory for the Red Sox, and the team still has three games remaining before the Midsummer Classic. The Fenway Park faithful witnessed Boston improve to 37 games above .500 - the first time the club has been that dominant since 1949, per Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe. The Red Sox wound up at 96-58 that season, one game back of a World Series berth.

Their .695 win percentage - roughly a 113-win pace - is not the best mark in first-half history though. The 1998 New York Yankees went 61-20 before the All-Star break, boasting an otherworldly .753 win percentage. The Bronx Bombers would go on to sweep the San Diego Padres in the Fall Classic that year.