There's about a month left in the Boston Red Sox's season, and they are sitting comfortably in the second Wild Card spot. The Tampa Bay Rays came out of the trade deadline red hot and ripped off nine straight wins, putting the division crown likely out of reach for Boston (they are 5.5 games back), so it seems like the final weeks will be about Wild Card positioning.
After beating the San Francisco Giants at home, the Red Sox won their series against the Miami Marlins, who aren't out of the National League playoff race yet. Then, they get maybe the most important series remaining, three in the Bronx; the final time they will play the New York Yankees this season.
September sees the Sox get five home series and three on the road. They will start the month at home against the Seattle Mariners for three games before a trip down to Baltimore for four, and then back home for three against the Los Angeles Angels. The series against the Yankees starts a stretch of 12 straight games, alternating home and road series.
Boston gets its first off day in two weeks following the Angels series, and gets to have it at home, with Kansas City coming to town for a three-game weekend set. The Red Sox get another off day the following Monday, a travel day as they head to Texas to take on the Rangers for three games. Then they'll head to Tampa for a three-game series, which could be especially interesting if the Sox climb back into the division race.
The Red Sox will get another Monday off day before starting the final week of the season with back-to-back series at home. First, they'll welcome the Cleveland Guardians, and then it'll be Alex Bregman and the Chicago Cubs for the final series of the season.
The Red Sox schedule might look easy at a glance, but it comes with challenges
Three series against the AL West make the Sox's schedule quite easy, with the Mariners six games under .500, the Rangers one under .500, and the Angels 30 under .500. The Sox also get the Royals, the fifth-worst team in baseball this season.
Unfortunately for the Red Sox, a lot of the teams they face are still in the playoff race. The Yankees are also fighting for the top spot in the American League. No one has taken any sort of lead in the AL West, so the Rangers are only a game out of the division and the Mariners just four.
Tampa will likely still be fending off the Sox and Yanks for the division. Cleveland and Baltimore will likely be in the AL Wild Card hunt (four teams sit between holding the third Wild Card spot and being three games out). The only saving grace will be the Cubs in the final weekend, who will likely have a Wild Card spot locked up in the NL by that point, but will need to go on a run to close the five-game gap to the best team in baseball this season, the Milwaukee Brewers.
While the competition may not be stiff, only the Angels and Royals will certainly have nothing to play for by the time the Sox face them. They get a few off days mixed in, including a rare, non-travel off day, which will really help. Hopefully they will lock up a Wild Card spot sooner rather than later so they can relax and prepare for the playoffs, but it won't be the easiest stretch to end the season in Boston.
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