Strap in, folks!
The AL Wild Card race is coming right down to the wire.
With the Red Sox loss in Baltimore, the Mariners moved into a tie with Boston for the second AL Wild Card.
And don’t look now, but the Blue Jays are still very much alive. They sit only one game back of Boston and Seattle for that final spot.
The Yankees recent surge has put them ahead in the Wild Card standings. They can clinch the top spot as soon as tonight if they win and Boston and Seattle both lose.
“We went out there, we played some tough opponents in some tough meaningful games,” said Aaron Judge after the Yankees completed a 5-1 road trip to put themselves on the cusp of the playoffs. “It wasn’t a postseason game, but it definitely had the atmosphere and the feel.
The Yankees will play host to the Rays, who have nothing to lose in the standings after locking down the best record in the AL.
Meanwhile, the Red Sox head to the nation’s capital for a set with the Nationals.
“Obviously we have to win,” said manager Alex Cora. “We’ve been talking about winning series’ and we haven’t won the last two. This one wasn’t good at all. Obviously the Yankees one wasn’t great. But I still think we control our own destiny.”
“I think we’re ready to go to Washington, to be honest,” said Xander Bogaerts. “They outplayed us here. It’s a bad time for us to be playing worse than the Orioles. Obviously we need it more than them at this point. Let’s get it out of here, man, get some good sleep and come back at it tomorrow.”
The Mariners will welcome the Angels to town, as they look to continue their improbable run. They’ll have Marco Gonzales, Chris Flexen, and Tyler Anderson in each of the three games, respectively.
And the Blue Jays will have Baltimore for three. They’ll have Hyun-Jin Ryu in the finale on Sunday.
“We just have to go one game at a time and win every game now, for sure,” said manager Charlie Montoyo. “It’s one game at a time, take care of tomorrow and go from there.”
We may end up with a tiebreaker game or two on our hands. Two tiebreaker games would need to be played if we end up with a four-way tie.
The teams involved would choose an A, B, C, D designation. The team with the best record among those who are tied chooses first. That team would be the Red Sox in this case.
The Blue Jays and Yankees would choose next and Seattle would be given the leftover spot. Whoever wins their respective tiebreaker games would end up being the two Wild Cards.
We’re in for a crazy ride this weekend. It’s far from over and with four teams within striking distance of each other, it may feel like the madness we saw at the end of the 2011 season.
Will the Red Sox get back on track, or do they fall short and come up with another late season collapse, like 2011? Will the Blue Jays reach the postseason for a second straight year? Can the Mariners complete their improbable comeback and snap their long streak of missing the playoffs?
Only time will tell.
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