Back to back wins, finally, when we need them the most! It was an interesting day in the American League, but before getting into that, let's talk about yesterday's win.
Pitcher Kyle Harrison had a good game, striking out five over six innings and giving up only one run on four hits. After we replaced Justin Wilson with Justin Slaten, the relievers were about as good as one could hope. No Boston homers, but the bats are finally starting to wake up, with Bregman, Yoshida, and González all getting two hits each, and five players (Bregman, Yoshida, González, Lowe, and Story) hitting RBIs.
Best part: tied at 3, the Sox found the gumption to score three runs on five hits and a stolen base in the top of the ninth. The will to win is there!
Cleveland won a double header in Minnesota yesterday because of course they did, their 9th and 10th consecutive wins. Meanwhile, Houston lost to Seattle and as a result, both the Astros and the Guardians are 84-71 and due to tiebreakers, Cleveland took the third and final Wild Card spot away from Houston. The Sox have the second spot and are one game ahead of Cleveland in the Wild Card standings.
With seven games left to the season, the Red Sox magic number is now six - any combination of six Red Sox wins and Astro losses clinches a playoff spot for Boston.
The bad news is that Houston has one of the easiest schedules down the stretch in MLB. After one more tough game hosting Seattle, they have three in Oakland (who apparently are only good when playing against Boston) and three in L.A. against the Angels (70-85). We can't count on Houston losses to get us into the playoffs.
The good news is that Boston holds the tiebreakers against both the Guardians and the Astros, so should the Wild Card race end with a tie, even a three-way tie among Boston, Cleveland, and Houston, the Red Sox will get the spot.
Seven more games - one more week of regular-season baseball. Tonight's game is a must-win for Boston. Sure, every remaining game is also a must-win, but especially this one as it only gets tougher from here, with the next three in Toronto and then the final three at home against Detroit. Those last three are gonna be motherfuckers, so let's make the most of tonight's chance.
Promising young rookie pitcher Connelly Early starts for the Sox tonight. In his two starts, Early has thrown as astonishing 18 K's in 10⅓ innings and has an 0.87 ERA. Let's get some of that Early magic going again tonight. The Rays will be starting pitcher Joe Boyle (1-3, 4.64) so the odds are in our favor.
Six! Let's do this, Boston!
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