The Boston Red Sox are not out of Wild Card contention yet. After a monthlong stretch of underwhelming baseball, they won their fourth-straight game on Sept. 24 to keep their postseason hopes above water.
The Sox's offense looked lifeless early in the game at the Rogers Centre. Besides a few doubles and stray base hits, Boston didn't make much noise at the plate until the seventh inning when Ceddanne Rafaela came up to bat with two outs.
Two walks and an infield single loaded the bases for Rafaela, and he came through. He scored Wilyer Abreu and Vaughn Grissom with a single to get on the scoreboard and begin Boston's late-game comeback.
Masataka Yoshida tied the game at three with an RBI base hit in the next inning and the American League East rivals headed to extra innings. Boston plated three runs in the top of the 10th, and it turned to two young hurlers to get the job done out of the 'pen. It wasn't pretty, but Chase Shugart collected the save.
The Red Sox's fourth-straight win keeps their Wild Card dreams alive
For the lead ‼️ pic.twitter.com/vlCNrgRA12
— Red Sox (@RedSox) September 25, 2024
Zach Penrod got into trouble quickly after Leo Jimenez knocked a leadoff double to score the ghost runner. He induced a flyout and walked Nathan Lukes before Shugart took the mound. He collected another flyout, but walked the next two batters to give Toronto a free run while the bases stayed loaded. Addison Barger popped out to end the game, and the Sox secured their fourth consecutive win.
The win wasn't loud or an offensive masterclass, but Boston is still alive in the playoff race, and that's what matters. Four games remain in the Sox's regular season, and they need to win all of them to have a shot at the postseason. They don't control their own destiny, though, so they also need to rely on other teams ahead of them in the standings to lose.
The Royals hold the third AL Wild Card spot with the Twins and Mariners right behind them, still ahead of Boston. Kansas City would have to lose at least four of its five remaining games for the Red Sox to have a shot. The Royals have lost seven of their last eight games, so they appear headed in that direction.
The Twins also have five games remaining in their season and Boston needs them to lose at least three. The Mariners have four left and need to lose at least twice.
But other teams' losses don't matter if the Sox can't maintain their recent momentum. They have one game left against Toronto at the Rogers Centre before a day off on Thursday and their final series of the regular season against the Rays.