With the Red Sox having lost three of four to the Orioles, four of six to the Blue Jays and six of seven to the Rays since Labor Day, the door has opened for the Rays and Angels to pick up ground. That they have, with the Rays going 11-6 in September before dropping three straight in New York this week and the Angels going 12-7 in September thus far.
Put it all together, and the reeling Red Sox are clinging to a 2 1/2-game lead for the wild card. The Sox have six games left on the schedule, while the Rays and Angels each have seven. Boston's magic number is five, meaning they could theoretically take care of this all on their own. More likely, though, they'll need at least a couple of losses from both Tampa and L.A. in order to secure that postseason berth.
While the eventual winner is very unclear, you can bet there will be some interesting baseball over the next week.
