The Red Sox looked headed for a familiar trip to Yankee Stadium, but the path in front of them has turned messy with four games left in the regular season.
Boston is sitting in the second American League Wild Card spot at 85-73, while the Chicago White Sox are four games back at 81-77 in the third spot. Chicago can’t catch Boston because the Red Sox own the tiebreaker, but Cleveland still has a chance to shake everything up.
That possibility comes down to Thursday night’s rubber match between Boston and the Guardians. Cleveland enters at 82-76, one game ahead of Chicago. If the Guardians beat the Red Sox and all three teams finish the weekend at 85-77, the standings could force a three-way tiebreaker scenario.
In that setup, the White Sox would take the American League Central because they hold the tiebreaker over Cleveland. That would leave Boston and Cleveland to settle the final Wild Card seeding.
Right now, the Red Sox have the edge over Cleveland thanks to a 3-2 head-to-head record this season. But if the Guardians win Thursday’s finale, they would claim the tiebreaker because of their better interdivision record.
That would push Cleveland to Yankee Stadium as the No. 5 seed. Boston, meanwhile, would head to the American League West winner, either the Texas Rangers or the Houston Astros, as the No. 6 seed.
So the clean version is this: Boston, Cleveland, and Chicago can all finish 85-77. Chicago would win the AL Central in a three-way tiebreaker.
Then Cleveland and Boston would be left to sort out the final Wild Card spot. If Cleveland beats Boston on Thursday and all three clubs end up at 85-77, the Guardians would pass the Red Sox and Boston would fall to the No. 6 seed.
Unlikely? Sure. But not impossible.
Boston’s next stretch isn’t exactly forgiving, either. The Red Sox will host the Chicago Cubs in a rainy three-game series at Fenway Park, and Sunday’s finale has already been moved up to Friday as the first game of a split doubleheader. The Cubs, for their part, will be playing with National League Wild Card seeding on the line.
Cleveland closes its season on the road against the lowly Kansas City Royals after Thursday’s game at Fenway Park. Chicago finishes with a Thursday game against the Royals before hosting the worst team in baseball, the Colorado Rockies.
Ranger Suarez will try to wipe away the whole mess when he starts against Cleveland on Thursday night. First pitch is set for 6:45 p.m. ET.
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