Where the Red Sox sit in a wild American League playoff race entering final week of regular season
The final week of the regular season is going to be madness, as the Boston Red Sox and a slew of other teams look to secure a spot in a crowded American League playoff field.
How wild is the playoff picture in the American League? With just one week left, only the Toronto Blue Jays have clinched a postseason berth in the AL. That just happened Sunday, and the AL East remains up for grabs for at least one more day.
The Blue Jays just need one more win or a Red Sox loss to clinch the AL East. The Red Sox are in Toronto for a three-game series beginning Tuesday. Boston's magic number to clinch a playoff spot is at five with six games to go, with Fangraphs giving the Red Sox an 89.9 percent chance at making the playoffs.
If the playoff started today, the Red Sox would be the No. 5 seed in the American League and play the New York Yankees in a Wild Card series. The best-of-three series would take place at Yankee Stadium, where the Red Sox went 5-2 during the regular season.
But the playoffs do not start today, and there's a whole lot to sort out before the postseason thinks about getting underway. All three divisions are still up for grabs, and there are four teams separated by a game in the standings. The Blue Jays, Detroit Tigers, and Seattle Mariners are atop their respective divisions at the moment, but the Tigers could easily find themselves thrown into the Wild Card race this week.
At least we'll get a night off from the madness Monday, with just three National League games on MLB's slate. But once Tuesday arrives, it's going to be one heck of a ride the rest of the way.
Where are the Red Sox in the playoff standings?
The Red Sox currently own a slim one-game margin over the Cleveland Guardians and the Houston Astros for the second Wild Card spot. Boston is three games behind the New York Yankees, who are the top Wild Card team in the American League.
The Red Sox couldn't complete a sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday night, which was a lost opportunity for Boston. At least the Red Sox didn't lose ground on the teams behind them in the Wild Card race, with the Guardians' 10-game winning streak coming to an end Sunday and the Astros losing to the Mariners.
The Guardians and the Astros are currently tied for the third Wild Card spot. But Cleveland's recent surge has the Guardians just a game back of Detroit for the AL Central, which could make things real interesting for Boston next weekend. The Red Sox and the Tigers are both 85-71 at the moment, but Detroit owns the tiebreaker over Boston after sweeping their three-game series in Motown back in May.
Red Sox tiebreakers
The Red Sox likely won't catch the Yankees for the top Wild Card spot, with New York's magic number down to four. But Boston does own the tiebreaker against New York based on their head-to-head record. The Red Sox also own the tiebreaker over the Astros and the Guardians.
The Red Sox don't have the tiebreaker over the Blue Jays. Boston would have to sweep the Tigers next weekend to own the tiebreaker over Detroit, which would come down to interdivision record.
Red Sox schedule
After a day off Monday, the Red Sox start a three-game series with the Blue Jays in Toronto on Tuesday. The Blue Jays are just two games up on the Yankees for the AL East crown, so this three-game set is incredibly important to both Toronto and Boston.
The Blue Jays won two of three against the Red Sox in Toronto in late April/early May, and have won seven of the 10 matchups overall.
Boston will have its top three pitchers take the mound in Toronto with Lucas Giolito starting Tuesday, Brayan Bello going Wednesday, and Garrett Crochet getting the ball in Thursday's series finale. They'll be opposed by Kevin Gausman, Max Scherzer, and Shane Bieber, respectively.
The Red Sox then close out the regular season with a three-game series against the Tigers at Fenway Park. Detroit currently sits atop the AL Central, but they're about to run into the red hot Guardians.
Guardians schedule
The Guardians will welcome the Tigers to Cleveland for a huge three-game series, which starts Tuesday night. The Guardians swept the Tigers in Detroit just last week, which started a six-game losing streak for Detroit. The Tigers have dropped nine of their last 10.
Cleveland has won six of 10 meetings with Detroit this season. The Guardians have won 15 of their last 17 games to climb into playoff contention.
After the Tigers, the Guardians host the Texas Rangers for three games to close out the regular season. The Rangers will likely be eliminated from postseason contention in the coming days, and won't have much to play for on the final weekend of the regular season.
Other teams in Wild Card race
The Yankees have won five of their last six games, and will close out the regular season against a pair of last place teams in the Chicago White Sox and Baltimore Orioles. Both series will be in New York.
The Astros are on the road to close out the season with three games in Sacramento against the Athletics and three against the Angels in Los Angeles.
The Mariners are three games up on the Astros and likely won't fall into the Wild Card race, especially with a three-game series against the 43-win Rockies on tap. Seattle closes the regular season with a three games at home against the Los Angeles Dodgers.