Boston remains in the second Wild Card spot in the American League following the team’s 4-1 win over the AL East-leading Blue Jays in Toronto. But the Red Sox got an extra boost with the Astros losing to the Athletics in Sacramento, 5-1, which dropped Houston two games behind Boston.

With those two results, the chances of the Red Sox missing the playoffs dropped drastically Tuesday night. Boston now owns a 96 percent chance at seeing the postseason, according to FanGraphs.

Boston is one game up on the Detroit Tigers, who now occupy the third and final AL Wild Card spot after losing to the red shot Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday night. Cleveland now leads the AL Central, while the Tigers are in danger of falling out of the playoff picture completely.

With Tuesday night’s results, Boston’s magic number to clinch a playoff spot is down to three.

Red Sox magic number

Any combination of three Red Sox wins and Astros losses the rest of the way would clinch a playoff berth for Boston. The Red Sox could clinch as early as Thursday night if Boston wins its next two games and Houston loses Wednesday night.

The Red Sox will have ace Garrett Crochet on the mound Wednesday night in Toronto. As it stands, he would be in lined up to start a potential Game 1 of a Wild Card series for Boston.

All the Red Sox have to do is go 3-2 over their final five games — two more in Toronto, three games against the Tigers at Fenway Park — to clinch a playoff spot.

American League Playoff picture

The playoff picture is becoming a little more clear in the American League, with spots secured by the Blue Jays, Seattle Mariners, and New York Yankees. There are three more spots to clinch, with the Red Sox, Guardians, Tigers, and Astros duking it out over the final days of the regular season.

The Blue Jays own a one-game lead over the Yankees in the AL East, the Guardians are on top of the Tigers in the Central by way of a tiebreaker (with two more head-to-head matchups), and the Mariners have a comfortable four-game lead in the West.

The Yankees have a three-game lead over Boston for the top AL Wild Card spot, but could overtake Toronto for the division. If the Red Sox remain in the No. 2 Wild Card spot, they’d play the top Wild Card team in a best-of-three series on the road.

If the Red Sox keep winning in Toronto, they might have the luxury of simply playing for seeding this weekend when Detroit comes to town to close out the regular season. The Tigers, now losers of seven straight, might have a lot more riding on the three-game set at Fenway Park as they now look to hang onto the final playoff spot in the American League.

There is still a lot to sort out with just five games remaining in the regular season. But the Red Sox are inching closer to their first postseason berth since 2021.

• Major League Baseball
• Boston Red Sox