The American League playoff race truly remains wide open. Even amid significant struggles in recent weeks, the Boston Red Sox are hanging around because teams in front of them consistently fail to win.
That's exactly what happened on Monday night. The New York Yankees defeated the Kansas City Royals while the Los Angeles Angels took care of business against the Minnesota Twins. Those teams ahead of the Red Sox continued their woeful ways. Minnesota is 6-14 over its last 20 games with Kansas City going 9-11 in that stretch.
The Red Sox continuously failed to take advantage and makeup ground in that span. They finally stepped toward the open door on Monday with a thunderous offensive performance in a 12-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park.
That allowed the Red Sox to move within three games of the final spot, with the Orioles, Royals and Twins currently holding the three American League wild card positions. Boston still has a chance, though they need to enact a ridiculous pace to get into the dance. The ballclub will have company in that chase with the Detroit Tigers and the Seattle Mariners, both of whom did not play Monday, also trailing the last spot by three games.
The series between the Red Sox and the Twins at Fenway Park from Sept. 20-22 only becomes more important as the race tightens in the American League. It only matters if Boston can build on this win and play winning baseball to maintain its position in a competitive push.
The Red Sox have two more games against the Orioles followed by visits to the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays. Those meetings prelude the consequential three-game set with the Twins.
