Bit of a different MMBB this time around, folks. I could sit here on a Sunday and tell you all about everything that hasn’t gone right for the Red Sox over the past week (especially over the weekend at Fenway)—too many runners left in scoring position, untimely hits coughed up in the latter half of ball games, vibes generally being in the shitter, etc.
You know all of that, though, because you’ve been watching alongside me. What might be more productive, though, is looking ahead.
As things stand right
now, Boston holds a three (3) game cushion for one of the coveted Wild Card spots in the American League. They’re a game and a half back of the New York Yankees for the top Wild Card slot, while they’re five and a half behind the Toronto Blue Jays for the American League East crown.
That gap between us and our foes north of the border, unfortunately, might be a bit too much to overcome with just under two weeks remaining in the regular season. I want to be realistic. However, I’ll keep the light on for our guys—anything’s possible, especially considering that we do have a trio of games against Toronto in the second-to-last series of the year.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the road ahead for our direct competition for postseason qualification. With only a handful of games left and a fair amount of teams bundled together coming down the home stretch, what lies ahead for the clubs remaining in the playoffs picture? There’s a fine line between those who get a ticket to the dance and those who don’t; it makes sense to be prepared for what lies ahead. With that said…
It’s Monday Morning Brushback time, y’all.
Toronto Blue Jays
REMAINING SCHEDULE: 4 games at Tampa Bay, 3 games at Kansas City, 3 games vs Boston, 3 games vs Tampa Bay
The team currently setting the pace in the AL East—which could very well have its three best teams earn playoff berths when the regular season wraps up—is the Toronto Blue Jays, who seem to have a horseshoe up their ass as of late. They had a pair of dramatic walk-off wins this week alone, a part of their quality form as of late; the Jays are 7-3 in their last 10 games, and are 32-21 since the All-Star break.
Again: with just two weeks left, their four game lead over that team from the Bronx and their five and a half game cushion on us has to feel pretty good. I’m still not convinced that they’re an absolute wagon—their run differential is actually worse than the Sox and the Yanks—but the numbers don’t lie, and those numbers in the standings department bode pretty well for the pride of Canada.
Luckily for the Blue Jays, the vast majority of their remaining tilts are against the Tampa Bay Rays: a team that has been quite cold as of late. Their record over the last 10 is a palindrome compared to Toronto (3-7) and they’ve been considerably below .500 (23-29) since the Midsummer Classic, a disappointment for them since they were playing some decent ball before that point (they stood at 52-47 after the first two games following the break). Anything can happen in these games in the sample size of one series (and let that be my qualifier for all of these points in this article going forward), but the Rays’ story has been written. Maybe they can play spoiler in the AL East, but as things stand I don’t see them making much of a ruckus. Their 2025 story has been written.
The story of the 2025 Kansas City Royals, while perhaps close to being over, is not quite yet written to its completion. If we’re holding out hope (however slim the odds are) for a Red Sox AL East title this year, then we have to do so for a KC playoff berth considering that they’re six games back of the final spot. Three games at Kauffman with their backs against the wall won’t be easy, though they’ve been playing milquetoast ball (read as: about .500 ball) in the second half themselves. Maybe the Royals can do us a favor, I dunno.
That leaves the Sox.
Can I be honest with you folks? The Rogers Center terrifies me. It’s our new house of horrors. I feel like nothing goes right there; we’re 16-18 in Toronto since 2021, for what that’s worth (which might be nothing, since the names change). It would be great if we could walk right in and change that fortune, but I certainly wouldn’t bet on it. More on this series later.
New York Yankees
REMAINING SCHEDULE: 3 games at Minnesota, 4 games at Baltimore, 3 games vs Chicago (AL), 3 games vs Baltimore
There’s a very real chance that we see these guys again in a few weeks after wrapping up the season series this weekend at America’s Most Beloved Ballpark. The bad news: that series went relatively poorly. The good news: we still won the season series handily, meaning that we hold the tiebreaker over them.
But back to brass tacks here: the Yankees’ upcoming schedule.
To be honest, Baltimore’s our best bet at throwing a wrench in their plans. The O’s have been playing some solid ball recently—they’re 8-4 since the calendar turned to September–though it’s too little and (way) too late. Four of those games being at Camden may bode well for us.
As for the other two teams: yeah, I’m not expecting much. The Pale Hose have been playing fine as of late but they’re still at the bottom of the Junior Circuit, while the Twinkies are 14-27 since they blew up their team at the trade deadline. Yuck. The Yankees probably feel nice about their playoff chances, even after their loss on Sunday.
Seattle Mariners
REMAINING SCHEDULE: 3 games at Kansas City, 3 games at Houston, 3 games vs Colorado, 3 games vs Los Angeles (NL)
The Seattle Mariners, the hottest team in baseball, are currently in pole position in the AL West thanks to nine consecutive wins. Even then, we’re nearly in lockstep with their record and their tiebreaker status against Boston is still up in the air.
I already made my points about playing in Kauffman in the Blue Jays section, so pop back up there if you’d like; same stuff applies.
The series next weekend in Houston is the biggest series of the year for both of these teams. Could it end up being the de facto American League West Championship Series presented by Doosan? Perhaps; either way, expect these guys to beat up on each other. I can’t make heads or tails of that set in H-Town. I guess the edge goes to the home team, but who knows for sure?
The games in the Pacific Northwest against the Rockies (the worst team in the league) and the Dodgers (the defending World Series champions) seem like a bit of a wash. I think our hope is that LA doesn’t yet have the NL West secured entering the weekend, or maybe the Phillies completely shit the bed beforehand and open the door for the Daaaaaaahdjurz to sneak into a bye position in the NL. That would give LA something meaningful to play for, which wouldn’t hurt the Red Sox at all.
Then again: so will Seattle themselves.
Houston Astros
REMAINING SCHEDULE: 3 games vs Texas, 3 games vs Seattle, 3 games at Oakland (again: I’m dead naming then), 3 games at Los Angeles (AL)
While they haven’t been setting the world on fire as of late (they’re 19-22 post-deadline), the demise of the Houston Astros has been greatly exaggerated. They’re firmly in the American League pennant race once again, and the battle between them and the Mariners will be fascinating to watch next weekend.
I already mentioned the Seattle series in the previous section, though I’d expect that Houston will take care of business against Oakland and the Halos. They’re a battle tested team, and even on the road I’d anticipate that they’ll rid themselves of the bottom feeders of their division.
As for that third series against the Rangers………………well, hold on a second because I want to talk about them in a moment.
Before that point: I want to pose a question to you, dear reader. If the Red Sox fall to the third Wild Card slot, and if they have to go on the road to face the champion of the AL West, who would you prefer to play? Sound off in the comments if you dare.
Texas Rangers
REMAINING SCHEDULE: 3 games at Houston, 3 games vs Miami, 3 games vs Minnesota, 3 games at Cleveland
Astute readers will realize that I have yet to mention the Texas Rangers, another team that’s been playing some damn good baseball recently. They’ve posted an 18-10 record over the past month.
Let’s lay the cards out on the table: while there have been some teams that have been on Boston’s heels recently, it’s a good thing that teams like Texas—alongside Houston and Cleveland and Seattle—are gonna have the opportunity to beat each other’s brains in. They can’t all make the playoffs, and they’re facing each other directly in the coming days. That bodes well for the Red Sox! I guess that splits/2-1 series wins are the most preferable situations in these instances, since that would mean that no team gets so incredibly hot that they’re able to leapfrog the Sox should fit hit the shan.
Texas has a real shot at a coup for the AL West, though. If they can punch the Astros right in the mouth, they’ll have a prime opportunity to make up even more ground in the standings against Miami and Minnesota, a pair of teams that are well below the .500 mark. Even with them traveling to Cleveland, I’m sure they’ll be going in with the mentality of a business trip.
Sneaky pricks, these Rangers. Be on the lookout for them, especially if they wow us all in Houston.
Cleveland Guardians
REMAINING SCHEDULE: 3 games at Detroit, 4 games at Minnesota, 3 games vs Detroit, 3 games vs Texas
Cleveland’s deserving of making this article, though just barely. Out of all of the teams we’ll be talking about/have talked about on this edition of the Brushback, the Guards have the lowest odds of making the playoffs as of Sunday night (11.3%), according to FanGraphs.
Cleveland’s on a roll, though! They’ve won nine of their last 11 games, giving them a puncher’s chance at making it to October. The beauty with them is that we’re gonna find out pretty quickly whether or not they’re someone worth keeping an eye on in the Wild Card (or if they’re VEEEEEEERY lucky and we live in a VEEEEEERY strange timeline, dare I say division?) race. Three games in Detroit will make or break their candidacy, I think. If they can survive in the Motor City, they’ll have four games against the stinky Twins before locking back in against their direct competitors.
Their reward if they’re able to survive that long, you ask? They’ve got those games at home.
Again, let me stress that this chaos among those in the AL Central and AL West is a good thing for us in the AL East. Let them fight. Let them kick each other’s teeth in. We don’t want any of those teams to build too much momentum; since the Sox have a few games already in hand, everyone else essentially standing pat when it’s all said and done is obviously beneficial while we do our own thing.
Speaking of which………..
Boston Red Sox
REMAINING SCHEDULE: 3 games vs Oakland (don’t comment about me saying Oakland if you’re gonna say I’m wrong because I’m gonna ignore you), 3 games at Tampa Bay, 3 games at Toronto, 3 games vs Detroit
You folks hear about these guys? You know about this? Folks? You see this, this team?
Well, I can’t delay this conversation any further! The Red Sox, a team that has had enough ups and downs in their rollercoaster season to make a Six Flags engineer blush, are on track to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2021. In the spirit of what has been a topsy-turvy year, their remaining schedules is one that’s quite interesting.
Let’s take it opponent by opponent.
OAKLAND: Have to win this series at Fenway, genuinely. I struggle to say that any team has to sweep an opponent since baseball is, well, baseball. We took two of three last week against the A’s out in California, though, so there’s no reason to expect anything less than that this time around. That’s a completely fair standard to hold the boys to.
TAMPA BAY: Sneakily the series I’m the most intrigued about. On one hand, the Rays are out of the hunt as far as I’m concerned. On the other hand, it’s still a road series. On the other other hand, this is a team that we’ve dominated in 2025; we’re 8-2 against the Rays this season. On the other other other hand, past success in baseball is not necessarily indicative of future success, and we don’t have the same team as we did when we swept them in July. On the other other other other hand, Tampa (like I mentioned earlier) isn’t playing great ball recently. On the other other other other other hand, I’m getting a call from my doctor asking me why I have so many appendages. Point is: I’m interested.
TORONTO: Just take one game of this series, please. Don’t get swept. Shoot for the stars, of course, but just do not lose all three. That could be catastrophic. Tread water.
DETROIT: I am begging the Motor City Kitties to lock up everything that they have to lock up by the time this series at Fenway comes along. Just make it easier for both teams, man. You get what you want, we get what we want, and hopefully we see you in the ALCS and throw it back to 2013 from there.
At the end of the day: if I had to say whether or not we make it to the playoffs……I’d say yeah, we will. Warts and all, this is a playoff team if you ask me.
We just might need to continue this roller coaster ride in the meantime, that’s all.
Song of the Week: “Breezin’” by George Benson
The next few weeks of Red Sox baseball might be stressful. Why not relax on this off-day with some smooth sounds?
Same time and same place next week, friends! Go Sox.
