The Boston Red Sox are headed to the playoffs, and that’s a significant accomplishment: It’s hard to make Major League Baseball’s postseason, and Boston had done so just twice in the last seven seasons.
But anyone who follows this team knows the Sox have bigger goals in mind. First up: winning the American League East.
After completing a sweep of the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday night, Boston enters Thursday with a three-game lead over the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. Both clubs have 10 regular-season games remaining, and the Red Sox’s magic number is eight. With every Sox win or Yankees loss, that number drops by one.
Here’s the Red Sox’s path to their second straight AL East crown, starting with a look at both teams’ remaining schedules:
Red Sox:Â at Reds (three games), vs. Blue Jays (three), vs. Astros (four)
Yankees: at Blue Jays (three), vs. Royals (one), vs. Rays (three), vs. Blue Jays (three)
Boston could have the AL East sewn up as early as the Blue Jays series — if the Red Sox win their next four and the Yankees lose their next four, the Sox can clinch next Monday against Toronto.
That scenario obviously is unlikely, but the remaining schedule does favor Boston: The Yankees are 6-7 this season against the Blue Jays, who they’ll face six times in their 10 remaining games. The Red Sox, meanwhile, are 12-4 versus Toronto this year and took two out of three from the Houston Astros earlier this season, while the Cincinnati Reds have the fourth-worst record in baseball.
In all likelihood, Boston’s quest for AL East supremacy will come down to the Houston series — if the Red Sox and Yankees both go 4-4 in their next eight games, Boston would clinch in its 159th game of the season.
So, where would the Sox go from there? We won’t count our chickens before they hatch, but let’s at least take a peek at the current best records in the AL as of Thursday morning:
Cleveland Indians:Â 95-57
Astros: 93-58 (1 1/2 games back)
Red Sox: 88-64 (7 GB)
If these standings hold, the Red Sox would enter the postseason as the AL’s No. 3 seed and take on the No. 2 seed Astros in the AL Division Series, which would mean a potential of nine straight games against Houston after the teams’ four-game series to close out the regular season.
If the Astros overtake the Indians for the No. 1 seed and Boston wins the AL East, the Sox would play Cleveland in an ALDS rematch from last season. Given how the Tribe is playing right now, manager John Farrell’s club probably rather would face Houston.
Both the Red Sox and Yankees have off days Thursday, but starting Friday, the regular season’s final sprint begins. Can Boston cross the finish line first?
Thumbnail photo via Patrick McDermott/USA TODAY Sports Images
