There was no celebration for the Boston Red Sox in Yankee Stadium Tuesday night, as the AL East leaders saw their 11-game winning streak go by the board in a 6-4 loss to the New York Yankees.
That loss coupled with a 5-1 victory by the Toronto Blue Jays over the Baltimore Orioles cut Boston’s lead to five games and left its magic number at one to clinch the division title.
But there is no panic in the Boston locker room, and there shouldn’t be. One more Red Sox victory or one more Toronto defeat will give Boston the division title. The Red Sox have already clinched a playoff spot.
The Cleveland Indians have already clinched the AL Central, while the Texas Rangers have already done the same in the AL West.
The real race in the American League is for the wild-card spots, and the Blue Jays are in an excellent position to nail one down.
After the Blue Jays finish their three-game series with the Orioles, they will travel to Boston and close the season with three games against the Red Sox.
The Jays currently hold the top wild-card spot and have a two-game edge over the Orioles, who have had an up-and-down 13-11 record in September.
Nevertheless, the Orioles hold a one-game lead over the Detroit Tigers, and it seems that those two teams will engage in a fight to the finish for the final wild-card spot.
The Tigers rolled to a huge 12-0 victory over the Indians Tuesday night.
The Tigers appear to have the scheduling edge over the O’s. After two more home games with the Indians, they go to Atlanta to close the season with three games against the Braves.
While Atlanta has played better baseball recently, winning seven of its last 10 games, it has been buried in last place in the National League East for months.
The Orioles have two more games at Toronto, where the Blue Jays have the support of their raucous fans. After that series, the Orioles stay on the road and close the regular season with three games in New York against the Yankees.
The Yankees, Seattle Mariners, Houston Astros and Kansas City Royals are still alive in the wild-card race, but they are far less likely to reach the playoffs.
The Mariners are two games behind the Orioles, but it would be difficult for them to leapfrog both the Tigers and the Orioles, and it would be even tougher for the Astros, Yankees and Royals.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com