On September 15, The Athletic assessed which contending teams have the hardest road to the playoffs (subscription required). It claimed the Boston Red Sox had the hardest schedule remaining among American League postseason hopefuls. From September 16-18, the Red Sox lost the easiest part of their remaining schedule, and put their Wild Card standing in jeopardy.
The A's came to Boston to begin the final two weeks of the MLB season, and the Sox were on the hunt for a series win after splitting the first two games. Many of their early season problems reared their ugly heads instead.
Trevor Story posted a rare, two-error day that allowed two A's runs to score. In the third inning, the shortstop air mailed a throw to first base that could've ended the inning before sure-fire Rookie of the Year Nick Kurtz scored from second base. Four frames later, Story botched another potentially inning-ending throw to first base, and Lawrence Butler scored.
Story made up for his gaffes with an eighth inning homer, but the A's still led, 5-3. Brayan Bello's second consecutive rough start also did them in — the young righty's sudden lack of command is concerning at such a critical time in the season.
Errors and lackluster offense haunt Red Sox as they drop series to A's, slip in Wild Card standings
The Athletics jumped on Bello right away, with a leadoff double, a home run, a double and an RBI single to quickly rack up three runs in the first inning. Bello only lasted four frames and surrendered three runs on five hits with two walks and three strikeouts.
Boston had multiple chances to counter the A's early lead, but strikeouts and weak contact plagued it all day. The Red Sox's offense went down in order in five of nine innings and they struck out seven times.
The Sox's September 18 loss to the A's was their fifth loss in their last seven games, and one of their wins was by the skin of their teeth — Nate Eaton and Nick Sogard saved the day in extra innings on September 17 to prevent the A's from sweeping in Boston.
The Red Sox had a 98.2% chance to make the playoffs on September 2 (per FanGraphs), the day Roman Anthony strained his oblique. Without him, their playoff chances have dropped to 83.2% (as of September 19). Boston's playoff odds remain high, but they could continue to plummet against the Rays, Blue Jays and Tigers — the Rays aren't entirely out of the race yet, and the Blue Jays and Tigers are in first place in their respective divisions.
Something needs to chance with Boston's offense, and fast. The Red Sox are running out of time to find their way, and a fourth-straight playoff miss could be the consequence.