(Photo courtesy of Cole Burston) “The Boston Red Sox narrowly dodging the Toronto Blue Jays to get to base.”
James Guiry
Connector Staff
The Boston Red Sox are 83-70, holding the final American League wild card spot at the time of writing this article.
Following their 5-3 loss to the Athletics on Thursday, the team is currently stuck in Sacramento, waiting for Las Vegas to welcome them. The Red Sox had no business losing that series to the Athletics, but they dropped 2 out of 3 games nonetheless.
Red Sox fans have something to look forward to though, as the next series starting on Sept. 19, is against Tampa Bay, a team they swept in their last meeting back in July and are 8-2 against them throughout this entire season. However, their last series against the Rays featured Boston’s new hope, outfielder Roman Anthony, who was injured in September and won’t play this series against the Rays.
Anthony was batting .292 with eight home runs, 32 RBIs and a .859 OPS through 257 plate appearances before he was injured. His offensive production was exactly what the Red Sox needed, helping them soar to the top of the American League standings. He was in the running for AL rookie of the year as well.
Before Anthony’s injury, it seemed as though the Red Sox would have one of the wild card spots locked up, since then though, it seems as though they have been fighting to keep their heads above water. Anthony may not be back until the ALCS if Boston even makes it that far.
Cleveland (81-71) and Texas (79-74) seem to be their biggest problems right now. Cleveland is currently -1.5 games behind Boston which is more concerning than the Rangers, who are -4.0 games behind.
The Guardians just swept the White Sox and then the Tigers and are on a seven-game winning streak, they seem to be getting hot at just the right time which should worry Red Sox fans. They will start a series against the dwindling Twins on Sept. 19.
Baseball Reference has the Red Sox with a 90.5% chance of making the wildcard spot and they’re giving Cleveland a 13.0% chance of taking it.
The Red Sox are finishing the season with ace Garret Crochet, Brayan Bello, Lucas Giolito, Kyle Harrison and Connelly Early as their five starters and moving rookie Peyton Tolle to the bullpen for the rest of the season according to manager Alex Cora. Fans can most likely expect a rotation of Crochet, Bello and Giolito if the Sox make the playoffs, with Aroldis Chapman as the primary anchor.
If the Red Sox can string together some wins in the final stretch of the season, they can definitely make the postseason, however with nine games left and the Guardians closing in, it’s theirs to lose.
They have some tough games scheduled through the final stretch of the season. After the series against the Rays, they face the Blue Jays in Toronto, the team that will most likely win the AL East. Their final series will be at Fenway against the Detroit Tigers, from 9/26-9/28. Detroit is 85-68 at the time of writing this article. After coming off a series loss to the Guardians, they are still leading the AL Central by 3.5 games. The Red Sox have a 3-7 record against the Blue Jays in 2025 and a 0-3 record against the Tigers.
Overall, fans should be optimistic about the Red Sox chances, they still have a small cushion. For the Guardians to pass the Red Sox they would need to continue their poor play while the Guardians continue to go on a winning streak. With their streak already at 7 games it is unlikely to continue much longer.
The Red Sox are a team with a lot of good young talent. Which is why making the playoffs this year is paramount. Nothing like getting to experience Playoff Fenway Baseball to continue the growth of the young guys. Nothing is guaranteed, make the most of every opportunity.
