The Red Sox missed a chance to sew up a spot in the postseason. They can’t win the American League East or host a home series in the wild card round of the playoffs next week anymore either.
Boston’s loss to Toronto on Thursday closed a few doors for the Red Sox with three games to go.
The Red Sox are still second in the wild card race, which is the highest they can finish. They’re a game ahead of the Tigers and two up on Houston.
A Boston win or a Houston loss guarantees the Red Sox a postseason berth. That’s the easy way.
There’s a slightly convoluted back way in too. If Boston loses its last three, Houston wins its last three and the Guardians go 1-2 or 0-3 vs. Texas, the Red Sox would still get in.
Toronto and New York are neck and neck for first place in the American League East. The winner will have a bye in the wild card round, while the loser is guaranteed to be the top wild card team.
Here’s where things stand:
Red Sox record: 87-72
Games remaining: 3
Fan Graphs: Computer simulation gives the Red Sox an 98.7% chance of making the playoffs.
Playoff Format
Six teams make the field. The top two division winners each get a bye in the Wild Card round. The third division winner is the No. 3 seed and plays the third wild card team. The first and second wild card teams are the No. 4 and 5 seeds and play each other. The higher seed will host all the games.
AL East Standings
| W | L | Pct | GB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| z-New York | 91 | 68 | .572 | — |
| z-Toronto | 91 | 68 | .572 | — |
| Boston | 87 | 72 | .547 | 4 |
Wild Card
| W | L | Pct | WCGB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| z-New York | 91 | 68 | .572 | +4 |
| Boston | 87 | 72 | .547 | — |
| Detroit | 86 | 73 | .541 | 1 |
| Houston | 85 | 74 | .535 | 2 |
Tiebreakers
The Red Sox would win tiebreaker (based on head-to-head) vs: Yankees, Astros, Guardians
The Red Sox would lose tiebreaker vs.: Blue Jays
To be determined: The Red Sox are 3-3 vs. the Mariners. The next tiebreaker, after head-to-head, is intradivisional record, which is still ongoing. The Red Sox are 0-3 vs. the Tigers with three games to go.
Magic Numbers:
1— Any combination of Red Sox wins and Astros losses clinches a playoff berth for Boston.
Schedule
Thursday’s results for AL teams in playoff contention:.
Houston 11, Athletics 5
Detroit 4, Cleveland 2
Toronto 6, Boston 1
N.Y. Yankees 5, Chicago White Sox 3
Colorado at Seattle, (late)
Friday games for AL teams in playoff contention:
Baltimore (Rogers 9-2) at N.Y. Yankees (Warren 8-8), 7:05 p.m.
Tampa Bay (Houser 8-4) at Toronto (Bieber 3-2), 7:07 p.m.
Detroit (Mize 14-6) at Boston (Harrison 1-1), 7:10 p.m.
Texas (Leiter 9-10) at Cleveland (Cecconi 7-6), 7:10 p.m.
Houston (Alexander 4-2) at L.A. Angels (Hendricks 8-10), 9:38 p.m.
L.A. Dodgers (Sheehan 6-3) at Seattle (Kirby 10-7), 9:40 p.m.
Red Sox Games Remaining: 3
- Friday vs. Detroit
- Saturday vs. Detroit
- Sunday vs. Detroit
If the playoffs started today:
Wild Card Round
Byes: No. 1 Toronto, No. 2 Seattle
Best of 3:
No. 3 Cleveland vs. No. 6 Detroit
No. 4 N.Y. Yankees vs. No. 5 Boston
Best of three, all games at the better seed’s stadium
- Game 1: Tuesday, Sept. 30
- Game 2: Wednesday, Oct. 1
- Game 3: Thursday, Oct. 2
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- Injured Boston Red Sox starter to throw another live BP on Friday
- Red Sox rookie Payton Tolle will finally ‘get a shirt’ — and an award
Sports columnist, assistant sports editor
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