The Boston Red Sox are going to the playoffs. They clinched the fifth seed in the American League after a gritty 1-0 win over Cleveland. This was not a blowout. It was a battle. Sonny Gray threw six sharp innings to reach 18 wins for the season. In the sixth, a single by Andruw Monasterio produced the solitary run. The team now faces the New York Yankees in a best-of-three series.
The upcoming series has become a Northeast fall pastime. Two of the largest cities in the country are about to go without sleep beginning September 29.
Of course, we can’t have a showdown with the Yankees without a little drama.
Will Judge Play?
For most of the week, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that Aaron Judge would not be available for the series with the Red Sox due to a calf strain.
Well, he didn’t check in with Judge because, according to him, he’s playing.
The report came from ESPN’s Jorge Castillo saying that Judge is ready to play on Tuesday.
“That’s what the plan is,” Judge said, via Castillo. “Try to get my body ready so I’m ready to go.”
“I don’t make the roster,” Judge said, per Castillo. “I’ve got no idea.”
So far this season, Judge has only appeared in 66 games due to injuries, including a stress fracture to his ribs.
Sleepwalking?
All eyes may be on Judge, but in reality, all eyes are on the Red Sox. They had a dramatic turnaround, but offense in September hasn’t been great. The team is only hitting.171 with runners in scoring position.
Of course, it’s hard to maintain the pace they’ve set over the last six weeks; it’s been a joy and a pleasure to watch this team turn it all around.
Wet and Wild Series
With all this coming to a head, there’s also a little drama as the Cubs come to town for the last series of the regular season. Due to a massive storm, the MLB has decided to have the teams play a doubleheader on Friday, and after that, the two teams may head to Tampa to finish the series. As we reported, the Cubs are furious.
