The Boston Red Sox are sitting pretty at 80-65 right now, staring down a magic number of 10 with just 17 games left on the docket. They just swept Baltimore in a four-game series, outscoring the Orioles 15-6, which felt like a huge statement after a rough patch. That rough stretch included tough series in the Bronx and then, yeah, a challenging home stand against our own Seattle Mariners. Now, with the Blue Jays at 72-73 and eight games back, plus the Guardians right there battling the Jays, Boston’s math looks solid, and their schedule for the next ten days seems to be giving them a break. But trust me, things are about to get real interesting.
A Walk In The Park, Or So They Think
First up, the Red Sox get two home games against the Los Angeles Angels at Fenway, September 7-9. Look, the Angels are a dismal 54-89, just playing out the string. This is exactly the kind of series a team pushing for the postseason should handle easily, winning at least two, probably all three, without breaking a sweat. Fenway will be buzzing in September, so there’s no excuse not to crush it and drop that magic number to 8 or 9 by Wednesday night. The only real wild card here is maybe the Angels being fired up about new owner Stan Kroenke taking over from Art Moreno, but let’s be honest, nothing on the field screams excitement from them. This is their grace period.
Then, September 11-13, the Kansas City Royals roll into Fenway for three games. The Royals are 63-80, a better record than the Angels, and they’ve actually been playing some decent ball lately. They won’t just roll over, especially after a nine-game win streak back in mid-August. Still, it’s a home series against a team out of contention. The Red Sox rotation with Gray, Suarez, and Tolle should line up perfectly for this one. Facing a .441 team at home is as good as it gets, so Boston should take at least two of these. By the end of the Royals series, if they play it right, the Red Sox could be sitting at 6-2 through these six games, with their magic number down to 6 or 7. That’s when the real nerves kick in.
The First Real Test Hits The Road
That projected drop in the magic number sets up their biggest challenge of this stretch: a three-game road trip to Globe Life Field against the Texas Rangers, September 15-17. This is the first *real* test. The Rangers are 70-73 and they are absolutely still battling for that third Wild Card spot, sitting just two games behind the Blue Jays and Guardians. Globe Life Field is a hitter’s paradise, and the Rangers are going to treat every single game like it’s a postseason showdown. You can expect a massive fight out of them. A 1-2 outcome for Boston in this series wouldn’t be surprising at all, especially when they might have to go up against aces like Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi. The stakes are sky-high for Texas, and that’s going to make it tough for Boston.
While those guys are sorting things out on the east coast, our Mariners just closed out a solid win, shutting down the Athletics 2-0 tonight. That’s what we love to see from the Emerald City! Keep that energy rolling, M’s!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Over the Monster.
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