McAdam: As Red Sox inch closer to clinching, they'll benefit from the Yankees' challenge

For the first time since Sunday, the Red Sox won a game on Wednesday which, at once, reduced their magic number to clinch the division and lowered the blood pressure of many who somehow managed to sense an epic collapse coming on, one reminiscent of 2011.

There’s still work to do before the East is won, but think of it this way: the Red Sox need only to win once in the final four games and have the Yankees lose once in their final four to seal the division title. That’s not a guarantee, but it’s a pretty reasonable expectation.

Their lead after 158 games sits at three full games. Care to guess how long it’s been since that lead was less than three games? Answer: Labor Day, the day after the Red Sox came stumbling out of New York, having lost three of four to the Yankees.

Since Labor Day night, the Red Sox have kept the Yankees at a safe distance. With rare exceptions, like Monday and Tuesday of this week, the Sox have won when the Yanks have won. On the rare occasions when they’ve lost (Boston is 16-8 in September), the Yankees have lost, too.

And while the two losses at the start of the final homestand were turned into Armageddon by some, the fact is, the Sox were due to cool off. Prior to the back-to-back defeats to the Blue Jays, the Sox had won 14 of 17 and had won six consecutive series.

The hot streak didn’t start in September, either. Since the non-waiver trading deadline on July 31, the Red Sox have been playing .673 ball (35-17). That winning percentage eclipses the Dodgers, Nationals and Astros, all of whom long ago clinched their divisions. Only the mighty Cleveland Indians (764) have been playing at a better rate.

The Yankees, who are 16-6 since their last meeting with the Sox, have pushed the Red Sox hard, which is to their credit. And the Red Sox have survived, which is not only to their credit but, just maybe, their benefit, too.

While the debate is never-ending about the pluses and minuses of finishing strong or getting your regulars some rest in the final week, there’s little doubt the Sox are better off by having to keep working until the final weekend.

Recall that last year, the Sox seemed sapped in the final week, done in by the taking their foot off the gas and the distractions of the David Ortiz Goodbye Tour ’16.

“I don’t know if there’s any way to tell for sure,’’ said Rick Porcello, Wednesday’s winning pitcher in a 10-7 slugfest with the Blue Jays, “but I think playing meaningful games this late and having a sense of urgency…it doesn’t allow you to get complacent or relax or have those couple of games where you’re running out September call-ups. We’ve got to play hard to the end and that makes it easier to carry it into the post-season because you don’t have to switch gears and go, ‘OK, now it’s time to go.’

If nothing else, the Yankees have kept the Red Sox honest, continuing to apply the pressure. The Red Sox aren’t looking over their shoulders or getting pre-occupied with the out-of-town scoreboard. What they know, however, is that they had best keep winning, which they’ve done.

“I don’t know exactly what their record is,’’ said Porcello of the Yankees, “but it seems like they’ve been playing great baseball the last couple of weeks and for them not to be able to close the gap, it speaks to how well we’ve been playing and grinding it out to win ballgames. We’ve had a lot of extra-inning games that we’ve won and the one thing I can say about this team over the course of the season is, there’s been some stuff that’s…happened, negative stuff and we’ve found ways to bounce back and be pretty resilient.

“I think that speaks volumes about the guys in here going about their job every day, going out there to win one game and then worrying about the next night when we get there. I think that that’s an important approach to have, especially at this time of year.’’

Meanwhile, the season keeps going. And so do the Red Sox, looking forward and not behind.