The end of the MLB regular season is just one week away, and the Boston Red Sox still have seven games to get through before their hopeful Wild Card berth.
The American League East race has looked quite solid, with the Blue Jays as the No. 1 overall seed in the East while the Yankees and Red Sox bring up the rear in Wild Card spots. The AL Central will be a bit more turbulent as the campaign hurtles toward its final days.
The Guardians have steamrolled their way into Wild Card contention on a 10-game win streak, which was snapped by the Twins on September 21, and the Tigers' seasonlong hold on first place in the AL Central is slipping. Cleveland swept Detroit during its season-altering hot streak, and it sits much closer to a division lead than expected just weeks ago.
The Red Sox's magic number to clinch a playoff spot over the Guardians is six. In other words, the total number of Red Sox wins plus Guardians losses through the rest of the season must equal six before it is mathematically impossible for Cleveland to pass them in the standings. Boston won the season series against Cleveland, so it has the tie breaker in the event that the two teams finish with the same record.
The Guardians join the AL Wild Card race as the Red Sox fight to maintain their standing
There's also a tight race for first place in the AL West between the Mariners and Astros. Seattle took over the division lead after winning 13 of its last 14 games, including a series win over Houston. The Red Sox also hold the tie breaker over the Astros, and therefore have the advantage in the Wild Card standings.
The Guardians' late-season emergence is just troubling for the Red Sox in the playoff race, but their tight division battle could light a fire under the recently-struggling Tigers. Detroit has lost eight of its last nine games, including two series against the Braves and Marlins, two teams with no postseason hopes this year.
After holding first place in the AL Central nearly all season, the Tigers aren't likely to go down quietly. Detroit swept the Red Sox in their first meeting this year, all the way back in mid-May, and quite a bit has changed for both teams since then.
After a skid in the wake of Roman Anthony's oblique injury on September 2, Boston's offense has seemingly come back to life against the Rays. The Sox posted 17 runs in between their first two games against their division rivals, and they're in line to collect a much-needed sweep. If the offense can stay hot in the final two series of the season against a Bo Bichette-less Blue Jays team and the struggling Tigers, the Red Sox's playoff seat could be a lock.