:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/56651777/usa_today_10275010.0.jpg)
With the minor-league season (essentially) over and our typical 8:00 AM slot suddenly open, I figured it would be worthwhile to take a quick daily look at how the playoff picture has changed in the American League on a day-to-day basis. This will be nothing fancy. Just a look at how playoff contenders did on the day, how it affected the standings and what it means for the Red Sox. I’ll consider any team within five games of a playoff spot as a postseason contender.
Scores
KC 4, CHW 3
TOR 3, BAL 2
BOS 11, OAK 1
CLE 2, DET 0
TB 2, NYY 1
SEA 10, TEX 3
MIN 16, SD 0
HOU 1, LAA 0
Playoff Picture
For Red Sox fans, the biggest deal of all these games was that the Yankees lost to the Rays. They wasted a great start from Sonny Gray, and the Yankees starter allowed a game-winning home run to Adeiny Hechavarria in the eighth inning before Alex Colomé shut the door in the ninth. The Red Sox now have a four game lead in the division with a magic number of 15 The biggest story in baseball, though, is Cleveland, whose win on Tuesday gave them a whopping 20 in a row. They seem good, to be honest. Elsewhere Minnesota held on to control of the second wildcard spot, and with Houston beating the Angels, the Twins now have a two game lead for the final playoff spot. Kansas City and Texas are now three games back, while Seattle, Tampa Bay and Baltimore are 3.5, 4 and 4.5 games back, respectively. As for the Red Sox, they remain five games behind Houston for home field in the ALDS and the Astros remain 1.5 games back of the Indians for the top seed in the American League. Over in the National League, the Dodgers finally won a game.