The Boston Red Sox, for much of the first half of the MLB season, seemed entirely out of the playoff picture.
While it now almost feels like old news, that’s worth remembering as Boston closes in on a berth in the postseason.
The Red Sox changed their season, as everyone knows at this point, with a 15-game winning streak that tied the longest win streak in franchise history.
They went from double-digit games under .500 to comfortably over .500, and after one little skid, they’ve played mostly good baseball since then, too.
The Red Sox happen to be in the toughest division in baseball, the AL East, which makes it a bit harder to get into the playoffs every year.
The Tampa Bay Rays lead the way heading into action on Friday, Sept. 4.
The New York Yankees are right on the Rays’ tails, and the Red Sox are working to stay in that mix, too.
At the very least, the Red Sox have a good chance to earn an AL Wild Card spot, which is something that the Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles are also chasing.
It’s about that time of year to start talking about magic numbers, and so that’s what we’ll do here.
Red Sox Magic Number
The Boston Red Sox enter play on Friday, Sept. 4 with a magic number of 16.
That means that 16 combined wins by the Red Sox and losses by the Rangers and Blue Jays would put Boston in the playoffs.
They also have a magic number of 17 to pursue the second wild card spot, with that combination depending on the Guardians.
Here are the details:
BTW – Sox magic number to clinch playoffs is 16. Any combination of Sox wins or losses by BOTH Texas and Toronto totalling 16 puts BOS back in for the second straight year. It’s 17 to clinch second wild card (Sox wins/CLE losses).
— Tom Caron (@TomCaron) September 4, 2026
It’s definitely an exciting time of year when you can start talking about details like this.
Red Sox Remaining Schedule
Boston will play the second game of a four-game series against the Orioles on Friday night. The Red Sox won the series opener on Thursday, 6-5.
Boston then hosts the Los Angeles Angels for three games and then the Kansas City Royals for three games.
After a day off on Sept. 14, the Red Sox hit the road to play three games at the Texas Rangers and three more at the Rays.
Another off day arrives on Sept. 21 before the Guardians come to Boston for three games.
Fascinatingly, the Red Sox close the season out with a three-game home series at Fenway Park against the Chicago Cubs.
By the time the Cubs come to Fenway, the Red Sox and Chicago could both have playoff spots locked down in their respective leagues — or there could be a lot on the line in the season-ending interleague series.
Red Sox Magic Number Updated With Playoffs In Sight