Red Sox are eliminated from playoff contention after loss to Blue Jays Originally appeared in NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Red Sox will miss the playoffs for the third consecutive season and the fourth time in five years.
They were officially eliminated from postseason contention after Wednesday’s 6-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. To clinch a playoff spot, they needed to win all four of their remaining games. and Get help from other teams in the American League Wild Card race.
The Red Sox came into the All-Star break comfortably in a wild-card spot with a 53-42 record. They have seen their playoff hopes slowly fade away as they are 27-37 in the second half. Now, they are struggling to simply finish above .500 for the first time since 2021.
“Outside the walls here, nobody expected us to play until now, to play important games,” coach Alex Cora said after Wednesday’s defeat. By Ian Browne of MLB.com“Our goal was to make the playoffs. It didn’t happen, but it’s a good learning experience for those guys over there. …
“At one point, we looked like we were a playoff-capable team, but then we just blew the opportunity, let’s put it that way. If you look around, if you look at the teams that are struggling, we had everything ready and we blew it.”
Three consecutive seasons without a playoff appearance mark the Red Sox’s longest streak in 30 years.
They will finish their 2024 season with a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park. The series will determine third place in the American League East, and Boston currently leads Tampa Bay by 1.5 games.
