Barely. By the slimmest of margins.
A Saturday afternoon victory over the New York Yankees capped a seven-day stretch in which Boston kept its playoff hopes from disappearing altogether. Results were a mixed bag, something fans have grown accustomed to the last two months. Solid pitching occurred in games where the bats disappeared. And in games the Red Sox did provide semblance of an offense, late-game bullpen meltdowns stopped Boston short.
In the end, the last seven days yielded three wins and four losses. This left the Red Sox grasping at the edge of a playoff race, where hope dwindles with each day.
Boston Red Sox and the Wild Card race
Saturday's victory for Boston came after a devastating loss on Friday night. Ahead 4-0 in the seventh inning, after Richard Fitts gave the Red Sox five innings of two-hit baseball, the bullpen disappeared.
A five-run seventh inning, capped by a grand slam from Yankee slugger Aaron Judge, provided enough for a 5-4 New York victory. It marked the second time in two nights the Red Sox lost to the Yankees by one after falling 2-1 in extra innings on Thursday.
Two stop the bleeding, the Red Sox called up Brayan Bello. Bello (14-7, 4.60 ERA) picked up the victory with a gritty effort, tossing 5.1 innings while allowing four hits and one run. And this time, the bullpen responded with 3.2 innings of 1-hit baseball.
Boston continued their mastery over Gerrit Cole. In 15 starts against Boston while with the Yankees, Cole is 5-6 with a 6.06 ERA.
Cole's trouble started with an intentional walk in the fourth inning to his biggest nemesis, Rafael Devers. The walk came with one out and the bases empty and the Red Sox took advantage with a three-run inning.
They tacked on four more in the fifth, including a 2-run RBI single by Devers.
Trevor Story, after two hits and a home run in Friday's loss, picked up three hits on Saturday. Masataka Yoshida went 2-4 and drove in three runs.
The victory was much needed and kept Boston hanging around. At 75-74, closing the season at .500 might be the more realistic goal to consider. However, a four-game winning streak or better could turn playoff hopes around in a snap.
With games still on the docket for Saturday, the Red Sox sit four games back of the final Wild Card spot. Plus, the Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners currently block Boston's path to that spot.
Upcoming schedule
Two weeks remain and Boston remains on the road after finishing up in New York on Sunday. A victory and split of the series would be a fantastic way to start the next stretch of games.
A day off on Monday is on the horizon, followed by three games in Tampa Bay against the Rays. Boston is 4-3 against Tampa Bay this season, with the teams last meeting in May, where Boston swept Tampa Bay.
Those three losses to the Rays were by a combined five runs.
Huge implications await next weekend, one way or another, when Boston welcomes the Minnesota Twins to town. The Twins are currently the owners of that final Wild Card spot and success here could flip the script for the Red Sox.
The two teams met in early May, where Minnesota took two of three from the Red Sox. In those two losses, Boston scored a combined three runs.
No rest for the weary with 13 games left on the docket. Boston will hopefully see the return of Tanner Houck later in the week, who has been out with shoulder fatigue. It will likely take five wins in their next seven games to even hang around. Another week of hovering around .500 likely won't eliminate the Red Sox but it will put them on life support.
For now, more relevant games are to be played. And hopes of keeping this season going into October.
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