For what feels like the 1,000th time this season, the Boston Red Sox are in control of their own destiny.
Thanks to a win Friday night against the lowly Washington Nationals, coupled with some help across the country from the Los Angeles Angels, the Red Sox have a clear path to the Wild Card Game that is completely in their hands.
The task? Win their final two games.
Here's where the American League wild card situation stands after Friday's action.
1. Yankees, +1
2. Red Sox
3. Mariners, 1 GB
4. Blue Jays, 1 GB
So, what this all means:
-- The Red Sox have two more games against the Nationals this weekend, and provided they win just one of them, they will guarantee that their regular season is extended. If Boston goes 1-1 the next two games, and the Mariners and/or Blue Jays win out, then a Game 163 (and maybe even 164) could be necessary.
-- The Yankees, at worst, will finish with a tie for one of the two wild card spots. All they need at this point is a win, or a loss from the Mariners and Blue Jays -- however there is a path for the Yankees to have to play a play-in game to get to the Wild Card Game, so they technically have not clinched a spot in the playoffs yet.
-- The most important thing to keep in mind is the Red Sox and Yankees winning out would secure a Boston vs. New York Wild Card Game matchup at Yankee Stadium. It's that simple.
-- However, there is a real chance that there will need to be a tiebreaker. Fortunately, we built this handy guide to figure out what would happen under a variety of scenarios.
Finally, here's the schedule for Saturday's action, with probable pitchers in parenthesis. It spans the entire day, so be prepared to be glued to your TV:
-- Rays (Shane Baz) vs. Yankees (Jordan Montgomery), 1:05 p.m. ET
-- Orioles (John Means) vs. Blue Jays (Alek Manoah), 3:07 p.m. ET
-- Red Sox (Tanner Houck) vs. Nationals (Josiah Gray), 4:05 p.m. ET on NESN, with pregame coverage beginning at 3 p.m.
-- Angels (Jhonathan Diaz) vs. Mariners (Chris Flexen), 9:10 p.m. ET
