BOSTON -- The Red Sox trail the Minnesota Twins by four games for the final American League wild card spot. Manager Alex Cora confessed last month that he constantly looks at the standings and scoreboard to see what the teams ahead of Boston are doing and made a second admission Monday night as the Red Sox begin a three-game set with the Baltimore Orioles -- he's frustrated the team can't close the gap while other teams, especially the Twins, are struggling.
"It's one less day on the calendar, right?" Cora said. "You can see it on the positive side. We're still there, and (the Twins) are coming here next week. But it's one less day in the calendar. And there's more teams involved."
The Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners are 3 1/2 games back for the final spot, with the Orioles and Kansas City Royals ahead of the Twins in the wild-card race. The Red Sox are 18-28 in their last 46 games since the All-Star break.
"We haven't played well since (the series against the Los Angeles Dodgers in July)," Cora said. "And we're paying the price right now."
The Twins were swept by the Royals over the weekend and begin a six-game homestand Monday night against the Los Angeles Angels and Cincinnati Reds. Minnesota is 39-30 at home and could easily put more pressure on Boston with a series win over the 59-84 Angels.
The Red Sox have 19 games remaining in the regular season, 16 of which are against American League East opponents. Three of the six remaining series are against teams that enter the week holding a winning record and a playoff spot. If Boston hopes to continue playing baseball in October, it begins with winning the series against Baltimore at home. The Red Sox are 33-39 at Fenway Park this season and 3-7 against the Orioles.
