The Red Sox have locked up their spot in the playoffs but their first opponent is TBD. What team should we hope the Red Sox run into in the ALDS?
As of September 14th, the Boston Red Sox have already won 101 games this season and have clinched a playoff birth. They also hold a commanding 10.5-game lead over the second place New York Yankees in the AL East and an 8.5-game lead over the Houston Astros for the top AL seed.
For the purposes of this article, *knock on wood*, I’m going to assume the Red Sox won’t have a catastrophic meltdown and hold their lead over the rest of the American League. This means that the Red Sox would play the winner of the AL Wild Card Game.
The Wild Card race has yet to be completely settled in the AL. Currently, the A’s are only three games back of the Astros in the AL West and one game back of the Yankees for home field in a one-game playoff series. However, we can say that barring a historic comeback by the Mariners, two of the A’s, Yankees, and Astros will be competing in the AL Wild Card Game. So a natural question for Red Sox fans is who should we be rooting for? What playoff scenario most benefits the Red Sox?
Let’s jump right in and compare these three potential opponents componentwise.