What does the Yankees’ latest blowout loss mean for the Red Sox’ playoff push? An AL Wild Card breakdown originally appeared on The Sporting News

The Boston Red Sox have had a rough final stretch to the postseason, as in the month of September they are a measly 4-6. However, snagging homefield advantage, which was thought to be impossible as of late, is not so far off now.

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Tonight, the Sox’ rival, the New York Yankees, just got blown out by the Minnesota Twins, 7-0. This is their second loss in a row after losing to the Sox yesterday, and now only hold a one game lead over Boston for first place in the Wild Card.

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So what does this mean for the Sox? It means now’s their chance. The Sox have six games to catch up and at least tie the Yankees. The Sox have the tiebreaker due to winning the season series nine to six.

The Sox’ next two series will be the easiest they have left, facing the Athletics and the Tampa Bay Rays. They have the ability to sweep either team, as long as their dysfunctional offense gets it back together. With their performance in the finale against the Yanks, it could come back together for this final stretch.

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However, if they don’t, they have to somehow win both series against the Toronto Blue Jays and Detroit Tigers, who are both going to win their divisions.

Overall, the Sox’ magic number is nine wins at the moment to make the playoffs. This number will get smaller with the more wins they get, or more losses for the teams behind them. Hopefully they win all their series left, and get that top Wild Card.

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