Despite the series win and mile-high vibes, the Boston Red Sox failed to clinch a Wild Card spot against the Toronto Blue Jays on September 25.
Boston fell, 6-1, to the longtime division leader after a rocky outing from Brayan Bello and nearly nonexistent offense. The Blue Jays' six runs all came in the sixth inning after Trevor Story opened the inning with a throwing error and Bello was unable to recover. The error was Story's seventh in September, alone.
After the error, Bello walked Addison Barger, plunked Anthony Santander to load the bases, and was swiftly pulled for Justin Wilson. Daulton Varsho soon played hero, though, and crushed a grand slam to open the scoring with a bang. One out later, Andrés Giménez doubled and later scored on a George Springer homer.
Meanwhile, the Blue Jays pitched a bullpen game and kept the Red Sox off the bases entirely until Jarren Duran doubled to open the seventh inning. Story singled to plate Duran in the next at-bat, but Boston couldn't score another run on the evening. It mustered just four hits and struck out eight times.
Red Sox's magic number remains at one after ugly loss to Blue Jays
Despite the momentum-killing loss, the Red Sox's magic number is still one (and they boxed the Yankees out from taking the division lead for at least one more day). They need to win one of their final three games against the Tigers or the Astros need to drop one of their final three games to the Angels to clinch a playoff spot.
The Tigers have been on a devastating losing streak in the final weeks of the season, and it's cost them their longtime spot at the top of the American League Central as the Guardians took off on a 10-game heater. Detroit has won just two of its last 13 games, while Boston has much more recent success to motivate it to the finish line.
It still won't be easy to beat the Tigers, though. The Red Sox have the back end of their rotation slated for starts over the weekend — Kyle Harrison will go Friday evening, Connelly Early on Saturday, and Sunday is TBD, but Alex Cora said Lucas Giolito will be available if necessary. The Red Sox will face Casey Mize on Friday, Detroit's Saturday starter hasnt been announced, and sure-fire Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal is slated for Sunday, but that is sure to change if it clinches before then.
The Tigers swept the Red Sox in their first series of the year, and Boston can't afford for that to happen again. The Sox are fighting for their playoff lives, and while an Astros loss could easily get them into the postseason, momentum matters in baseball, and it matters even more for this streaky team.