Red Sox: Nathan Eovaldi vs Gerrit Cole battle could determine Cy Young race

Wrapping up the Red Sox season

If voters haven’t made up their minds by the end of tonight’s game, there won’t be many more opportunities to sway their opinion. How the Red Sox and Yankees finish in the standings could go down to the wire but playoff positioning historically hasn’t mattered as much to voters in the Cy Young debate compared to the MVP race.

Cole is scheduled for one more start next week in a potentially pivotal meeting in Toronto against a tough Blue Jays lineup. If he falls short in Boston tonight, it won’t be easy for him to make up ground in the Cy Young race.

With the Red Sox moving to a four-man rotation, Eovaldi might get two more starts. His next would be against the lowly Baltimore Orioles. Boston will hopefully have the luxury of skipping Eovaldi in the regular season finale against the Washington Nationals. He’ll only make that start if the Red Sox absolutely need that game to clinch their postseason spot.

Time is running out for these pitchers to pad their resumes. A duel between two Cy Young contenders this late in the season with both teams vying for the Wild Card presents an opportunity for one of these pitchers to emerge as the front-runner. The outcome of tonight’s game could go a long way toward determining who brings home the hardware.