The Red Sox have put themselves in position to at least dream a little bigger.
Boston is on a five-game winning streak, sitting at 80-65, and still has plenty left to sort out over the final stretch. The club is third in the American League East and holds the No. 2 American League Wild Card spot, but the gap to the teams above it is not out of reach just yet.
The Rays sit first in the division and own the best record in the American League, while the Yankees are second in the AL East and currently have the top Wild Card spot. New York is only two games ahead of Boston, which keeps the conversation alive.
There are 17 games left for the Red Sox between now and Sep. 27.
Their remaining schedule includes the Angels, Royals, Rangers, Rays, Guardians and Cubs. Tampa Bay and New York both have 19 games remaining.
The clearest opening for Boston is Tampa Bay, even if it is a steep climb. The Red Sox are six games back of the Rays and still have three head-to-head games left, from Sep. 18 through Sep.
- That series will decide the tiebreaker, and right now Boston and Tampa Bay are tied 5-5 against each other.
For the Red Sox to leapfrog the Rays, they would need a major collapse from Tampa Bay and a strong finish of their own. If Boston goes 10-7 the rest of the way, the Rays would need to go 5-14 just to end up tied in the standings, and Boston would still have to win the tiebreaker.
Even a perfect 17-0 run would still require Tampa Bay to go only 12-7 for the two teams to finish level. In other words, Boston needs five more wins than the Rays over the final stretch, plus the tiebreaker.
The path past New York is a little more realistic, though still narrow. The Red Sox are two games behind the Yankees, but New York already owns the tiebreaker and there are no more regular season games between the two clubs.
That means Boston has to finish at least one game ahead in the standings to pass them. If the Red Sox were to go 10-7, for instance, the Yankees would need to finish no better than 8-11.
The Red Sox still need help, and plenty of it. Catching the Rays for the division lead looks like a long shot. But moving past the Yankees is still on the board, and nothing is off the table yet.
In Other News...
Red Sox Deadline Trade Looks Different After New Connelly Early Detail
The Red Soxs deadline move for Curtis Mead already had a clear shape: Boston parted with Connelly Early, a pitcher on the 60-day injured list with left elbow inflammation, in a deal that brought back a player with major league experience. Early had been viewed as a real asset despite the injury, which made the swap notable even before the details around his market started to surface.
Chicago had shown interest in Early before the deadline, a reminder that Boston was working with more than one possible path as it tried to balance present help against future value. The fact that the Red Sox ultimately got the deal done elsewhere only adds another layer to a trade that may look different now than it did in the moment, especially with Earlys upside still part of the conversation. [Read more 🡒]
Red Sox Face A Tough Bench Decision With Romy Gonzalez Pushing Back
Romy Gonzalez has been doing exactly what a player is supposed to do after getting sent down: force the issue. Since the Red Sox optioned him to Triple-A Worcester in early August, he has hit well enough to keep his name in the conversation whenever Boston starts sorting through the edges of its roster.
For a club trying to balance depth, fit and everyday roles, Gonzalez has made the next step harder to ignore. Bringing him back would require a corresponding move, and that is where the decision gets tricky, with players such as Andruw Monasterio or Connor Wong among the possible casualties. No announcement has been made yet, but the longer Gonzalez keeps producing in Worcester, the tougher it becomes for Boston to leave him there. [Read more 🡒]
Red Sox Suddenly Look Like A Real Threat For One Reason
The Red Sox have gone from looking buried in late June to suddenly carrying the kind of confidence that changes a conversation around a clubhouse. Since June 25, Boston has surged from 32-46 to 80-65, and the transformation has been driven in large part by a lineup that looks nothing like the one the team was trying to survive with earlier in the summer.
Roman Anthony, Trevor Story and Adley Rutschman have all helped reshape the order, giving the Red Sox more impact and more flexibility as the season has worn on. The run has been so dramatic that Boston has played at a .716 clip in that stretch, the sort of pace that makes every remaining game feel a little different, and leaves the bigger question hanging over what this team can do if the new version keeps showing up. [Read more 🡒]