Red Sox Could Jump In American League Standings With Win Over Tigers
The Red Sox have sat in fourth place in the American League East for too long
The Boston Red Sox have returned to form and are playing as expected following a terrible start to the season.
They fought to get back to .500 and to win five straight series, and now they are making a push up the American League East standings and in the wild-card race.
The Red Sox entered Monday with a 36-31 record and a half-game back of the Tampa Bay Rays for third place in the East. Boston is beginning a three-game set with the Detroit Tigers, while the Rays are squaring off with their rival New York Yankees.
The Red Sox will be tasked with taking down the 26-40 Tigers, opposing rookie right-hander Alex Faedo. Meanwhile, the Rays will be up against the imposing 49-17 boys in pinstripes and combat Gerrit Cole, who is 6-1 on the season.
Should both games play out as expected, Boston will go to bed in third place. Both the Red Sox and Yankees are 1.5-run favorites according to oddsmakers at DraftKings Sportsbook on Monday. A $100 bet on the Sox would return $152.63, while the same bet on the Bronx Bombers would pay out $168.97.
The Monday slate of games also will affect wild-card seeding. With the Cleveland Guardians resting, a Red Sox win would create a tie between the two clubs in the standings. The Rays game would determine if that tie would be for the second or third spot.
Boston has been on the brink of rising up the standings all month, and another series win against the Tigers would be the next step in the Red Sox’s long journey toward the playoffs.
