The 2018 Boston Red Sox will be playing in the postseason this October. Okay, not exactly breaking news.
The Sox needed either a win on Tuesday night or a loss from the Mariners and Rays to ensure their spot. As they have most nights this year, they took care of business themselves with a 7-2 victory over the Blue Jays, improving their record to 99-46. It will be the third-straight playoff berth for the Red Sox, matching a franchise record for most consecutive seasons with a berth (2003-05, 2007-09)
Clinching a playoff spot (albeit a wildcard spot) with nearly three weeks left in the regular season is quite an incredible feat. Only 17 teams in MLB's modern era have won 99 of their first 145 games. Nine of those squads have gone on to win the World Series.
These Sox are on pace to break all kinds of regular season franchise records as well, but it didn't seem to matter on Tuesday night. This group has known for months that they would be in the postseason and after ugly finishes the last two Octobers, their focus is squarely on that part of the calendar. After the game, there was minimal fanfare in the locker room, just talk about what comes next.
"It's great." Chris Sale said of clinching. "I think, from the start of the year, we talked about October since the start of spring training, We've all been pulling from the same side of the rope. We have a lot of good guys in this clubhouse, medical staff, coaching staff and players in this clubhouse. This is the first step in the right direction."
While the concerns about this team's roster (i.e. bullpen and health) are very real, the Sox have positioned themselves incredibly well over the final few weeks of the regular season to maximize their playoff performance. Another Yankee loss on Tuesday night lowered the division magic number to nine and that doubles as the magic number for home-field advantage in the AL throughout the postseason. By this time next week, the Sox could be playing for nothing during the rest of the regular season.
That will give Alex Cora the freedom to experiment and baby all his starters down the stretch for a significant stretch. He's the new key ingredient this season and it will be on him to get this team peaking when it counts.
"We got a shot now," Cora said of the playoff berth. "We have the elimination game now. We're in great position to win the division and to accomplish other things, but credit to them. I just told them, I told the group I'm very proud of them. Regardless of what's going on around us, winning streaks, losing streaks, we stay together. They've been very consistent as far as showing up every day and preparing for the game and playing the game. I'm very proud of them."
