The 2022 MLB campaign has been a lost year for the Boston Red Sox, who are going to miss the playoffs for the third time in four seasons.
The Red Sox made it all the way to the ALCS last year, but it was clear from the early stages of the 2022 season that Boston’s magic from 2021 was gone.
The Red Sox have 13 games remaining on their 2022 schedule.
At 72-77, the team is in last place in an extremely tough AL East.
The final two weeks of Boston’s season are largely inconsequential, but there’s still one solid goal that’s still in play for the team: a winning season.
Can the Red Sox pull it off?
What It Would Take
If the Red Sox want to finish with a winning record, they’ll have to go 10-3 over their 13 remaining games.
A 10-3 finish for the Red Sox would bring their final record to 82-80 for the season.
Finishing right at .500 is another goal that’s still in play for the squad, which would require Boston to go 9-4 over its final 13 games to finish at 81-81.
Again, these aren’t terribly meaningful goals, but the Red Sox would certainly feel a little better about their season if they were to finish with a record of .500 or better.
Doing so, however, is going to be a tall task, as the team has a difficult remaining schedule.
The Road Ahead
The Red Sox and New York Yankees began a four-game set on Thursday, so there are three games left in that series.
Between New York’s relevance in the playoff picture and Aaron Judge‘s chase for history, there’s a lot of buzz surrounding the Yankees right now, making them a difficult team to face.
After the Red Sox are finished with the Yankees, they’ll head home to host the Baltimore Orioles for four games.
The Orioles’ playoff hopes are slim, but they’re still in the mix, so it’s safe to assume that Baltimore is going to put up a tough fight until the team is officially eliminated.
After facing Baltimore, the Red Sox will hit the road for a three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Every game matters right now for the Blue Jays, who are fighting for positioning in the AL Wild Card race.
To wrap up the season, Boston will be home again for three games against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Like the Blue Jays, the Rays have a lot to play for as it pertains to Wild Card positioning, so they’re going to be pesky as well.
In summary, here’s how Boston’s remaining schedule looks:
- 3 games at Yankees
- 4 games vs. Orioles
- 3 games at Blue Jays
- 3 games vs. Rays
All of Boston’s remaining games will come against teams that have something to play for.
That’s not great news for the Red Sox’s hopes of finishing with a winning record, but that goal is certainly still on the table.
It’ll take a strong couple of weeks for Boston to finish the season at or over .500, but if the team can string some wins together, it could definitely happen.
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