How Red Sox’s Final Game Affects American League Playoff Seeding

The Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers have each clinched a playoff berth, but their final game of the regular season still has postseason implications for both sides.

Red Sox fans won’t watch Sunday’s matchup at Fenway Park too anxiously. The Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees are fighting for the American League East, and whoever falls short will host a first-round matchup as the top wild-card seed.

That leaves Boston vying for either the No. 5 or 6 seed. The Red Sox would wrap up the higher spot with a win over Detroit.

Boston could still maintain that spot with a loss. The Red Sox hold a one-game advantage over the Tigers and Cleveland Guardians with the tiebreaker over Cleveland, so they would only fall to No. 6 if the Tigers and Guardians both win, giving Detroit the head-to-head tiebreaker over Boston for the No. 5 seed.

Don’t expect Alex Cora to treat this game with much urgency. The Red Sox manager indicated Saturday, per MassLive’s Christopher Smith, that he’s not overly concerned about the seeding knowing Garrett Crochet is lined up to pitch the series-opening game on Tuesday.

“We’re going to play on the road regardless,” Cora said. “Yeah, I mean, they’re all good teams. We know who’s pitching Game 1 for us, so we’ll take our chances.”

As a result, Detroit has much more on the line Sunday. The Tigers would climb to the No. 3 seed if they capture the division crown. They would also stave off some embarrassment of squandering a massive edge to Cleveland in the closing weeks.

Boston can’t face Detroit in the first round, eliminating the dilemma of wondering if the Red Sox would be better off losing on Sunday. It also rules out a dream Game 1 matchup between Crochet and Tarik Skubal, who isn’t starting on Sunday after the Tigers salvaged a playoff spot on Saturday.