Red Sox pass first test with AL East clincher, eye others to come

The last week felt like a slippery slope, with the Red Sox slowly losing ground and an air of fatalism hanging over them.

On Saturday, though, the hosts regained their footing, beating the Houston Astros 6-3, to clinch the A.L. East for the second-straight season and third time in the five years.

Unlike a year ago, when the team had the awkward experience of celebrating the division immediately following a walk-off loss to the Yankees, the Red Sox won this one on their own.

There was no backing in, regardless of how long – with a game to spare on the schedule – it took to clinch.

“We’re enjoying ourselves, we’re proud of our accomplishment and we’re ready to keep moving,’’ concluded Jackie Bradley Jr. in a raucous clubhouse. “The ball was in our court. We had the division lead for some time now and we were able to finish it.’’



The last thing they wanted – from a pride standpoint – was to be reminded that they won by default, or be hounded by the suggestion the Yankees were set to overtake them, only to run out of time.

In the celebratory clubhouse, with the music booming and champagne corks popping, there were no sound effects  – “beep…..beep…..beep’’  — symbolic of a team backing in. Their arrival was delayed, yes, but eventually, the Red Sox reached the post-season of their own accord.

“We knew it wasn’t going to be given to us,’’ said Chris Sale, who will be going to the postseason for the first time while avoiding a must-win start Sunday. “That was kind of our mindset the whole time. It was ‘Let’s go win these games; let’s not count on someone else losing. Let’s go get our own wins.’ We did that and here we are.’’



They had owned first place since Aug. 1, and not until late Friday night had the lead ever been shaved to fewer than 2.5 games.

But even before they made wrapped up the division officially, there were plenty of tests for the Sox. They were an unfathomable 15-3 in extra innings. They won their fair share of one-run games (22-18) and they specialized in digging out from their own messes.

Consider: They led the majors in wins when trailing after five innings (20), when trailing after six innings (16), when trailing after seven (11) and when trailing after eight (5).

On their last road trip of the season, with the Yankees refusing to let go of their grip, the Red Sox went 8-1, including the last six in a row.

For all the resilience the Red Sox showed on the field, there was a persistent, competing narrative that suggested they weren’t very likable, and at times, it was hard to argue that point. They seemed needlessly splintered in Baltimore early in the season, forming a circular fire squad against one another while they debated takeout slides and brushback pitches. And when they verbally ganged up on a Hall of Famer at 30,000 feet, they were thin-skinned, petty and immature.

When the history of the 2017 team gets told, those ugly incidents can’t be expunged.

But there was a toughness to this team, too. Sometimes it manifested in the 15th or 16th innings, at other times when a short skid threatened to turn into a longer one.

“We’ve been backed into a corner at times,’’ said Sale. “I think the extra-inning wins, the schedule, the division we play in, the character of this team….we like grinding. We’re not afraid to get down and dirty.’’

Perhaps no player better symbolizes the ups and downs of the season more than David Price, who orchestrated the nasty rebuke of Dennis Eckersley and spent two long stretches on the disabled list. But Saturday, Price may have delivered the three biggest outs of the game.

Having pitched Friday night, Price was thought to be unavailable. But after going through his pre-game throwing program, he informed the staff that he was ready to contribute.

In the seventh, the Astros were sniffing a comeback, having had four consecutive hitters reach base with two runs scored and two others on base. Price entered and got a groundout, a strikeout, and after a walk with an open base available, another strikeout to quell the threat.

“It’s been a turbulent year,’’ said owner John Henry, “but he is one hell of a pitcher.’’



The challenge now is to do something with their post-season opportunity, something at which they failed miserably last season.

“We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us,’’ said John Farrell. “We’ve got 11 more wins to accumulate this year.’’

But for one afternoon, they could rightfully celebrate No. 93. It had been a long time coming.