Boston Red Sox clinch a postseason spot thanks to Angels

The Boston Red Sox took down the Baltimore Orioles on the back of Chris Sale and then the Indians beat the Angels to help Boston clinch.

The Boston Red Sox will be playing postseason baseball this year. Now, the only question is what seed they’ll be and if they can clinch the AL East crown.

Boston entered Wednesday with a magic number of 2, and with their win and an Angels loss, the Red Sox now know they’ll be playing in October. They rode Chris Sale’s 300th strikeout game to a 9-0 shutout, but they were nowhere near a playing field when they actually clinched.

The Red Sox were on their way to Cincinnati, where they’ll begin a three-game weekend series with the Reds on Friday. The team also had rookies dressed in costume and singing karaoke on the bus. Luckily, Christian Vazquez was able to give fans a look at that hilarious experience.

The AL East race

Now, Boston just has to worry about the New York Yankees, the only threat to them for the division title. Simply making the postseason is not enough for this Boston team.

"“Just getting into the playoffs is not our goal,” manager John Farrell told reporters Wednesday night. “Certainly it’s a steppingstone toward other things that we have our sights set on, as many teams do. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us.”"

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Things get even tougher for New York since these teams won’t play again in 2017 unless it’s in the postseason. Each night the Yankees win, the Red Sox also manage to do so, squandering every chance New York gets to claw closer.

Entering Thursday, the Red Sox magic number to win the AL East division title is 8. Both Boston and New York are off on Thursday, before beginning weekend series. The Sox will be in Cincinnati through Sunday, while the Yankees head to Toronto for a series with the Blue Jays. Both teams should have a chance to sweep their series, which would keep things right where they are for Boston. It would be great if the Red Sox can win 8 of their final 10 games and clinch the title on their own with no help from Yankees losses. But, the Yankees are going to lose at some point down the stretch and help Boston out.

Next: Chris Sale records 300th K

So, while a postseason spot is clinched, it looks like an AL East crown will be coming soon. By this time next week, the champagne bottles should be popping and the Red Sox should be celebrating, while also getting ready to play those big-time October baseball games.