MLB Wild Card Race: Red Sox Saved Playoff Hopes with Victory over Yankees

The Boston Red Sox have endured one of the worst September stretches in recent baseball history. But they were able to squeak out a victory in the back end of a doubleheader against the New York Yankees on Sunday, and saved their wild card hopes in the process.

If the Red Sox would have lost that game, they would have fallen into a tie with the Tampa Bay Rays for the final playoff spot in the American League. All their confidence would have been gone heading into their final series of the season at Baltimore, a team that swept a three-game series at Fenway last week.

But by winning that one game against the Yankees—thanks in large part to some great work by the bullpen and Jacoby Ellsbury’s third home run of the day—the Red Sox moved to a full game ahead of the Rays with three games to play.

All the pressure is off the Red Sox now and is firmly placed on the shoulders of the Rays. The Rays are the team trailing in the standings. They have to catch the Red Sox, and the only way to do that is by winning games.

The Rays have had chances to catch the Red Sox, but they have lost some games that they shouldn’t have.

Now the Rays have to beat the Yankees to get into the playoffs. The Rays will have an edge in this series because Yankees manager Joe Girardi is going to play things cool.

The Yankees have clinched everything that there is to clinch—American League East and home-field—so they have nothing left to play for. They are likely going to play it safe in these last three games to make sure everyone is ready to go when the playoffs start on Friday.

In addition to the Yankees not playing their regulars in this three-game series, the Rays will have James Shields, Jeremy Hellickson and David Price pitching. That is difficult for any team to overcome, much less a team running out a team filled with triple-A players.

But the Red Sox will have Josh Beckett pitching tonight, and more often than not, he rises to the challenge in these “big game situations.”

All the Red Sox need is some combination of wins and Rays losses to add up to three over the next three days in order to get in. The Rays will likely have to win all three games and hope the Red Sox lose to out of three to get in the playoffs.

If a one-game playoff is necessary, the Red Sox will have home-field advantage in that game.

There are too many things that have to go right for the Rays to get in and too many things that have to go wrong for the Red Sox not to get in.

The Red Sox have done everything they can to give the wild card away, but no one has taken it. I think last night’s victory gave them the confidence that they need to hold on to the wild card.

Red Sox Nation can rest easy, at least for now. When they get in the playoffs, they will be in trouble.