Red Sox Still Have Division, Not Wild Card, As Priority Despite Recent Tumble

The Boston Red Sox certainly have had an interesting two weeks, but did they turn a corner Wednesday night?

The offense was alive and well in Boston’s 20-8 walloping of the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park. The Red Sox now are four games back from the top spot in the American League East after being in first place for much of the season.

It’s been a tough go of it since the trade deadline, but the Red Sox showed plenty of promise, despite Phillips Valdez getting shelled for seven earned runs in the ninth inning.

There’s still plenty of baseball to be played and Boston still can recapture the top spot in the division. However, the postseason is nearing and every win counts.

For manager Alex Cora, a wild card spot is not enough.

“Right now we’re in a wild card spot. But that’s not what we’re shooting for,” Cora said over Zoom after the game. “We’re shooting for the division. For that, we have to play better. I do believe we’ve been playing better the last few days. It just happened that both of those teams came back. …”

The division certainly is within reach, the Red Sox just need to find ways to close out games no matter how big their lead is.