ALDS 3: Cleveland 4, Red Sox 3

Cleveland - 000 202 000 - 4  7  0
Red Sox   - 000 011 010 - 3  8  0

After David Ortiz's remarkable, record-setting batting performance in the final year of his legendary Red Sox career, it would have been a storybook ending for Boston to win the pennant and possibly win a fourth championship during Big Papi's tenure. It wasn't supposed to end like this, abruptly and frustratingly, with Cleveland celebrating a Division Series sweep on the Fenway infield.

After the victors retired to their clubhouse to celebrate, a tearful Ortiz came back out on the field and tipped his cap to the remaining fans, who had been chanting "Thank You, Papi!" and "One More Year!" since the end of the game.

The Boston bats were held quiet by Josh Tomlin (5-4-2-1-4, 68) for four innings, but they finally stirred in the fifth. It was in the eighth inning, however, when they made their move. Trailing 4-2, down to their final six outs and facing Bryan Shaw, the Red Sox brought up the top of their batting order. Dustin Pedroia was called out on strikes. He protested the call, but the strike three pitch was called correctly. Pinch-hitter Travis Shaw grounded a single into right field. Mookie Betts scorched a grounder to third. Jose Ramirez backhanded it and got the force at second. Cleveland manager Terry Francona then called on his closer Cody Allen. Ortiz, who had driven in a sixth-inning run with a line drive sacrifice fly to center, walked on four pitches, putting the potential tying runs on base.

At first base, Ortiz motioned to the crowd several times to get up and make some noise. (But why did they need to be prodded?) Hanley Ramirez looked at two balls and then drove a hard grounder into left. Betts scored and it was 4-3. Marco Hernandez went in to pinch-run for Ortiz at second base. Xander Bogaerts, with two singles in three earlier trips, hit the ball very hard, but right at second baseman Jason Kipnis, for the third out.

After Craig Kimbrel made quick work of Cleveland in the top of the ninth, the Red Sox came up for what would be their last inning of the season. Chris Young flied to left and Sandy Leon struck out for the third time in the game. Jackie Bradley (0-for-9, with 7 strikeouts to that point) was Boston's last hope. Allen fell behind 3-0, but fought back to a full count before Bradley lined a single to right. Allen fell behind Pedroia 3-1 and ended up walking him, also on a full count pitch. Allen also fell behind Shaw 3-1, the crowd roaring on each wayward pitch, but after Shaw fouled a pitch off, he lifted a routine fly to right. Lonnie Chisenhall squeezed it - and the ALDS was over.

Boston starter Clay Buchholz (4-6-2-1-4, 75) worked most of the time with at least one opponent on base, but he kept Cleveland off the board until the fourth. In that frame, he allowed a single to Ramirez and a walk to Chisenhall. After Coco Crisp sacrificed the runners to second and third, Tyler Naquin brought them in with a single to right.

Boston closed the gap to 2-1 in the fifth. With one out, Bogaerts singled to center. Andrew Benintendi lifted a fly to deep left that scraped off the Wall on the way down. Bogaerts read the play perfectly and scored all the way from first, sliding across the plate head first.

Drew Pomeranz, who had retired the side in the fifth, walked Ramirez to start the sixth and then gave up a one-out home run to Crisp. It was a crushing blow, especially since the Red Sox had just scored in the previous inning. (Crisp was actually Cleveland's last base runner of the night, as Joe Kelly, Koji Uehara and Kimbrel retired the last 11 men to come to the plate.)

Tomlin allowed a leadoff single to Pedroia in the bottom of the sixth and was pulled. Andrew Miller struck out pinch-hitter Aaron Hill (who was batting for Brock Holt). Betts doubled off the Wall and Pedroia went to third. Ortiz lined out to center, scoring Pedroia. Hanley Ramirez struck out.

Boston managed only a one-out walk in the seventh. Then came the rallies in the eighth and ninth, when the AL East champs very nearly pushed this series to a fourth game. Instead, it is Cleveland who will host Game 1 of the ALCS against the Blue Jays.

Despite its sudden ending, the 2016 season was far from a disappointment. After two last-place finishes, this season ranks as an unqualified success. David Ortiz turned in one of the best seasons of his soon-to-be-Hall of Fame career, we witnessed the emergence of Mookie Betts, and we won the goddamn division. While we will no longer have the pleasure of watching #34 spit in his big mitts and get in the box, ready to put a hurting on some opposing pitcher, the future looks extremely bright.

Josh Tomlin / Clay Buchholz

Pedroia, 2B
Holt, 3B
Betts, RF
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, 1B
Bogaerts, SS
Benintendi, LF
Leon, C
Bradley, CF

Despite the Sunday rainout, both managers are staying with the same starting pitchers. (Interesting: Buchholz and Tomlin were teammates at Angelina College, a community college in Lufkin, Texas.)

The Red Sox got off to a slow start in this series, but:

Don't let us win tonight!

ALDS 3: Cleveland at Red Sox, 4 PM (Postponed)

UPDATE: Today's game has been postponed because of rain. It will be played tomorrow at 6 PM.

Cleveland -
Red Sox   - 

Josh Tomlin / Clay Buchholz

Pedroia, 2B
Holt, 3B
Betts, RF
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, 1B
Bogaerts, SS
Benintendi, LF
Leon, C
Bradley, CF

Don't let us win this afternoon!

The Red Sox's backs are to the wall, but Boston has a history of coming back from the brink:

1999 ALDS - Down 0-2 to Cleveland in best-of-5, won next three games 9-3, 23-7, 12-8.

2003 ALDS - Down 0-2 to Athletics in best-of-5, won next three games 3-1 (11), 5-4, 4-3.

2004 ALCS - Down 0-3 to Yankees in best-of-7, won next four games 6-4 (12), 5-4 (14), 4-2, 10-3.

2007 ALCS - Down 1-3 to Cleveland in best-of-7, won next three games 7-1, 12-2, 11-2.

The Red Sox are the only team in history to come back from 0-2 in a best-of-five series more than once, and they hope to make it a third time beginning this afternoon.

Both Game 3 starters finished the regular season on a high note. Josh Tomlin had a 1.69 ERA in five games (four starts). Clay Buchholz allowed two runs or fewer in four of his last five starts.

In two games against Cleveland this year (April 6 and May 20), Buchholz allowed nine runs in 10 innings. Tomlin pitched 7.2 innings against the Red Sox on August 15, allowing three runs.

You can feel buried in a short series very quickly, but things can reverse course just as fast. A few clutch hits, a handful of shut-down innings, and we could be on our way back to Cleveland for a do-or-die Game 5.

Remember this, from 2007? It's good advice. No need to panic. Just play ... and win.

But, seriously:

Hey, Cleveland:

ALDS 2: Cleveland 6, Red Sox 0

Red Sox   - 000 000 000 - 0  3  1
Cleveland - 040 101 00x - 6  9  0

David Price's postseason misfortunes continued (3.1-6-5-2-3, 65), but even if Price had allowed only one run over eight innings, the Red Sox still would have lost. (Price has allowed at least five runs in five of his nine career postseason starts (and three of his last four, and four of his last six).)

Boston's bats were ice cold against Corey Kluber (7-3-0-3-7, 104) and two relievers. Cleveland has done everything right in this series. They have taken full advantage of any and all mistakes, and their advance scouting reports on the Red Sox could not be more accurate. The Red Sox hitters have been silenced while their top two starters were hit for five runs each.

Boston managed only three singles (coming in the first, fifth, and sixth innings), while working three walks and having one batter hit by a pitch. The Red Sox advanced a runner past first base only two times all afternoon.

Game 3 of the ALDS will be at Fenway Park on Sunday at 4 PM. It could be the final game of David Ortiz's career.

Price needed only eight pitches to get Cleveland in order in the first and he got the first batter in the second. Then Carlos Santana singled to left. Jose Ramirez reached first on an infield chopper than Brock Holt could not get a handle on. Brandon Guyer then flared a single out beyond shortstop into short left-center to score Santana with the first run of the day. After the two cheap hits, Lonnie Chisenhall lined a 2-1 pitch to right field for a three-run homer. Cleveland led 4-0 and it wasn't until Price walked Roberto Perez - the fifth straight Cleveland batter to reach base - that Carl Willis came out for a mound visit and John Farrell got on the bullpen phone. Matt Barnes began warming up. Price rebounded and got the next two batters.

Price allowed a one-out single in the third, then struck out the next two. He gave up a leadoff single in the fourth and when he issued a one-out walk, Farrell came out with his hook. Barnes allowed a run-scoring single to Jason Kipnis and was also responsible for the run that scored in the sixth.

On the Red Sox side, Holt singled with one out in the first and was erased when Mookie Betts grounded into a double play. Kluber walked Dustin Pedroia and Betts in the fourth, but Boston could do nothing with the gifts, as David Ortiz popped to shortstop and Hanley Ramirez was called out on strikes.

Xander Bogaerts singled to lead off the fifth and was stranded there as Andrew Benintendi lined to right, Sandy Leon popped to short, and Jackie Bradley struck out. Betts singled with two outs in the sixth, bit Ortiz lined to right.

Boston's last attempt at a rally came in the eighth. Kluber walked Leon and plunked Bradley. Dan Otero came in and struck out Pedroia on three pitches, got Holt to line to center, and had Betts ground into a fielder's choice out at third.

The season now rests on the shoulders of Game 3 starter Clay Buchholz. If the Red Sox can win on Sunday afternoon, Rick Porcello may pitch Game 4.

Fifty-three teams have won the first two games of a best-of-five ALDS and 46 gone to win the series. The Red Sox have two of the seven comebacks from 0-2 (1999 and 2003).

David Price / Corey Kluber

Pedroia, 2B
Holt, 3B
Betts, RF
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, 1B
Bogaerts, SS
Benintendi, LF
Leon, C
Bradley, CF

Okay, here's the plan. Price brings his "A" game and the hitters stop swinging at every piece of garbage that is even remotely in their vicinity, we win and go home tied 1-1. Even with more than half of the lineup looking like shit, and getting three of their four runs on solo dongs, the Red Sox still lost Game 1 by only one run.

Terry Francona managed like Game 1 was a must-win (and with Trevor Bauer starting, maybe it was), but he's probably burned both Andrew Miller and Cody Allen for tonight; they both threw 40 pitches last night. Meanwhile, John Farrell has Matt Barnes, Brad Ziegler and Craig Kimbrel rested and ready.

SoSH's Ian York shows what the Red Sox can expect from Corey Kluber.

Kluber's favorite pitch is his sinker, which he throws about 38% of the time. ... When he is ahead in the count, he uses his curve more often; when behind, he is more likely to throw a slider. ... Kluber's curve and slider are both significantly better than average ... His changeup is also well above average, probably partly due to the surprise factor.

His four-seam fastball and sinker both grade out about average ... His curve and slider both target the bottom of the strike zone. His change is typically thrown below the zone, often drawing swings in spite of that. His fastballs tend to be toward the middle of the zone in height, but often targeting the edges in unpredictable ways ...

In two of his last four starts of the regular season, Price allowed five and six runs (both games were against the Yankees). Price faced Cleveland only once this year, on Opening Day: 6-5-2-2-10. Kluber was opposite Price back on April 5 (5.1-9-4-2-5) and he also faced Boston on May 20 (7-5-2-2-6).

Even though Kluber suffered a quadriceps strain in late September, he's still Cleveland's ace - his 3.14 ERA was 4th in the AL and he led the league in ERA+ - and Price needs to be sharp, or the Red Sox could be in serious trouble.

ALDS 1: Cleveland 5, Red Sox 4

Red Sox   - 101 010 010 - 4 10  0   
Cleveland - 013 010 00x - 5 10  0

Cleveland hit three solo home runs off Rick Porcello (4.1-6-5-0-6, 72) in the third inning. Drew Pomeranz allowed an inherited runner to score in the fifth, but left the bases loaded, giving his teammates a chance to fight back.

But Playoff Assassin Tito was working in the opposing dugout and he used Andrew Miller in the middle innings to stifle the Boston bats, then called on Cody Allen for a five-out save. Allen's first batter, David Ortiz, doubled, but a pinch-runner (as the potential tying run) was stranded at third. Allen struck out three batters in the ninth, as the Red Sox hitters, as they had been doing all night long, kept trying (and failing) to hit pitches that were well outside and usually in the dirt.

The night started strong for Boston as Dustin Pedroia doubled to right field. Brock Holt followed with a single and the Red Sox had runners at first and third against Trevor Bauer (4.2-6-3-0-6, 78). Mookie Betts struck out and Ortiz fouled to first, but Hanley Ramirez doubled to center. Holt tried to score and was initially called safe on a head-first slide, but the call was overturned when Cleveland manager Terry Francona challenged the call.

Cleveland tied the score in the second when Jose Ramirez doubled and scored on Lonnie Chisenhall's single. Chisenhall advanced to second on Jackie Bradley's poor throw to the plate, but when the Red Sox challenged, that call was overturned and Chisenhall was called out.

Boston took a 2-1 lead when Andrew Benintendi homered to open the third. He was the first Red Sox rookie to homer in his postseason debut and the youngest Red Sox player to hit a postseason home run (22 years, 92 days). Porcello could not hold the lead, though, as Roberto Perez led off the bottom of the third with a game-tying solo shot. After Carlos Santana grounded out, Jason Kipnis and Francisco Lindor went back-to-back. Progressive Field was rocking and the TBS announcers were unable to suppress their glee. TBS showed those three home runs approximately 50 times each throughout the night.

Hanley Ramirez cracked his second double of the night with one out in the fourth, but both Xander Bogaerts and Jackie Bradley were over-anxious and both struck out. Sandy Leon's solo home run in the fifth cut Cleveland's lead to 4-3. Two outs later, Francona pulled Bauer and brought in Miller. Holt greeted the bearded lefty with a double and Betts walked, bringing Ortiz to the plate. Miller threw four pitches outside the strike zone, but home plate umpire Brian Knight called two of them strikes. Ortiz now had no idea what the strike zone was, and he swung and missed what would have been "ball 5" for the third out. Knight effectively took control of that inning and personally killed the Red Sox's rally.

Porcello allowed a leadoff single to Perez in the fifth and after he got Santana to fly to left (Perez tagged and hustled to second), John Farrell pulled him and brought in Pomeranz (who had apparently won a spot in the bullpen thanks to a good relief effort in the season's final game). Pom looked like crap here, though. Kipnis's single scored Perez and made it 5-3. Mike Napoli hit a two-out ground-rule double to left and Pomeranz intentionally walked Ramirez to load the bases. At the time, it felt like the game was in danger of getting out of hand - and Pomeranz struck out Chisenhall.

Miller retired the Red Sox in order in the sixth and got the first two in the seventh; Bryan Shaw got the third out. Shaw started the eighth and Holt homered to right, again bringing Boston to within one run. (TBS, however, did not begin showing Boston's three homers non-stop.) Betts popped out to the pitcher and Francona called on Allen. Ortiz hit a ball to the gap in right-center and was moving as fast as he could, and he legged out a double. Francona challenged the call, but it was upheld - and Marco Hernandez pinch-ran. Ramirez grounded to second and Hernandez went to third. But he died there as Bogaerts had a horrendous at-bat, swinging wildly at Allen's outside pitches in the dirt.

In the ninth, it was more of the same. Bradley struck out swinging at a very high fastball. Leon struck out for the second out. Benintendi singled to right, and the Red Sox had a glimmer of hope. Pedroia battled for eight pitches but he half-swung at a pitch that was in the dirt and was called out.

Holt was 3-for-4, and finished the night a triple shy of the cycle. ... On the other side, Bogaerts was 0-for-4, with a dribbler to the pitcher and three strikeouts. .. Bradley struck out three times and popped to short. ... Pedroia also struck out three times. ... Porcello had not allowed as many as five runs in a start since July 24.

Rick Porcello / Trevor Bauer

Pedroia, 2B
Holt, 3B
Betts, RF
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, 1B
Bogaerts, SS
Bradley, CF
Leon, C
Benintendi, LF

American League Division Series

G1 - Thu 1006 - Red Sox at Cleveland, 8 PM
G2 - Fri 1007 - Red Sox at Cleveland, 4:30 PM
G3 - Sun 1009 - Cleveland at Red Sox, 4 PM
G4 - Mon 1010 - Cleveland at Red Sox
G5 - Wed 1012 - Red Sox at Cleveland

It will be David Price/Corey Kluber in Game 2 and Josh Tomlin/Clay Buchholz in Game 3.

The best-of-five series pits Cleveland manager Terry Francona - who managed the Red Sox to Word Series titles in 2004 and 2007 - against his former pitching coach in Boston, John Farrell. Farrell also once worked as the director of player development in Cleveland. Mike Napoli, a member of Boston's 2013 World Champion team, is Cleveland's first baseman and former Red Sox reliever Andrew Miller is in the opposing bullpen. Beyond the Box Score took a look at Francona's managing style here.

Cleveland's rotation has been hit by injuries, with Kluber being sidelined because of a quadriceps strain (but will start Game 2), Danny Salazar available only out of the bullpen and Carlos Carrasco (broken hand) out for the season.

Bauer faced the Red Sox twice this year, allowing six runs and 10 hits over six innings. He allowed two runs in one inning of relief on Opening Day at Cleveland (1-2-2-1-2) and gave up four runs in five innings as a starter on May 21 in Boston (5-8-4-2-0). Boston won both of those games.

Porcello faced Cleveland only once in 2016, May 22 at Fenway Park: 5.2-5-2-1-5 in Boston's 5-2 win

This ALDS will feature the top two AL teams in runs scored per game. Boston led the league in runs scored, finishing 101 runs ahead of second-place Cleveland.

            RS   AVG    OBP    SLG    OPS    TB
Boston     878  .282   .348   .461   .810   2615
Cleveland  777  .262   .329   .430   .759   2356

Looking at OPS+, Boston remains #1 while Cleveland drops to 12th.

Also:
AVG: Boston #1, Cleveland #3-T
OBP: Boston #1, Cleveland #4
SLG: Boston #1, Cleveland #5
Doubles: Boston #1, Cleveland #2
Walks: Boston #2, Cleveland #4

Although the Red Sox lost the last two games of the regular season (and five of their last six), they had a fantastic September, going 19-8, their highest win total in any month this season. Boston averaged 5.6 runs per game (1st in MLB) and posted a 3.05 team ERA (3rd in MLB) in September, including a 1.77 bullpen ERA (2nd in MLB).

The Red Sox were a season-worst 5.5 GB on the morning of June 30. A few days later, on July 2, they were trounced by the Angels 21-2. After that, Boston went 50-32, the 2nd best record in MLB behind the Cubs.

SB Nation ranked all of the 25 possible World Series match-ups. Red Sox/Cubs (a 1918 rematch!) comes in at #7.

Will we see Playoff Assassin Farrell this month? What is told Alex Speier earlier this season (my emphasis) is encouraging:

You've got to remain flexible. You've got to remain quick, because it is the most volatile part of any given team. The postseason is, I think, very different than the regular season for a number of factors: One, certainly the urgency of the game you're in. You're dealing with starters who have got a high number of innings pitched already. Prior to going into the 2013 postseason, I did a little research on a historical level for my own standpoint, and the most games were won and lost in the seventh inning. So, going into that, I looked at the seventh inning as maybe the most pivotal time in the course of that game. Maybe you're getting the bullpen started an inning before you normally would, even for a starter who's been very good for you and who's been an elite performer throughout. So, you're mindful of the seventh inning being that time because the stress on pitches in the postseason is much greater than the regular season.

Finally, how the Red Sox have finished throughout David Ortiz's career:

        W    L     AL EAST     POSTSEASON
2003   95   67    2nd place    Lost ALCS
2004   98   64    2nd place    Won World Series
2005   95   67    2nd place    Lost ALDS
2006   86   76    3rd place
2007   96   66    1st place    Won World Series
2008   95   67    2nd place    Lost ALCS
2009   95   67    2nd place    Lost ALDS
2010   89   73    3rd place
2011   90   72    3rd place
2012   69   93    5th place
2013   97   65    1st place    Won World Series
2014   71   91    5th place
2015   78   84    5th place
2016   93   67    1st place    ???

G162: Blue Jays 2, Red Sox 1

Blue Jays - 000 010 010 - 2  9  0
Red Sox   - 000 000 100 - 1  4  1

The Red Sox were no-hit by Aaron Sanchez for 6.2 innings until Hanley Ramirez homered down the left field line. The Blue Jays challenged the initial call of "home run", but the umpires upheld it after a review.

After the Jays went ahead against Brad Ziegler, the Red Sox had two innings in which to come back. Chris Young singled to start the eighth, but Andrew Benintendi was called out on strikes (as Young stole second). Dustin Pedroia grounded to third and Brock Holt struck out swinging.

In the bottom of the ninth, Mookie Betts grounded to short and David Ortiz tapped out catcher-to-first. Hanley Ramirez walked and Xander Bogaerts singled to center to create some excitement. But Jackie Bradley grounded out to third.

In the final regular season game of his career, Ortiz - who had one of his best seasons at the plate - went 0-for-4, with two strikeouts.

The Red Sox finished the regular season at 93-69. Cleveland (94-67) has a make-up game scheduled for tomorrow against the Tigers. But since Cleveland has secured home field advantage for the ALDS, that game may not be played.

Aaron Sanchez / David Price

Pedroia, 2B
Holt, 3B
Betts, RF
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, 1B
Bogaerts, SS
Bradley, CF
Leon, C
Benintendi, LF

WEEI:

If the Red Sox beat the Blue Jays, they will force the Indians to win both their Sunday tilt with Kansas City and a make-up game in Detroit in order to have the ALDS start at Progressive Field.

If the Red Sox lose Sunday, and the Indians beat KC, the series will start in Cleveland.

If the Red Sox lose against the Blue Jays, and Cleveland loses Sunday, the Indians would play Detroit Monday. Terry Francona's team would then decide its own fate because of the tie-breaker.

Leo Ortiz, the Large Father's father, talking about staying in Boston for the festivities for his son:

I'm going to be here until the World Series because we're going to win that, too.

G161: Blue Jays 4, Red Sox 3

Blue Jays - 020 001 001 - 4  4  0
Red Sox   - 200 000 010 - 3  5  0

Craig Kimbrel walked the first batter he faced in the top of the ninth (Michael Saunders). The Jays pinch-ran Dalton Pompey and bunted him to second. Kimbrel's wild pitch put Pompey on third. A sacrifice fly brought him home and broke a 3-3 tie.

The Red Sox went in order in the bottom of the ninth.

Mookie Betts went 2-for-4 (and scored twice) and has 214 hits this season. Only two men in Red Sox history have had more hits in one season: Wade Boggs (240 in 1985) and Tris Speaker (222 in 1912).

Also, the Red Sox have three players (Betts, David Ortiz, Hanley Ramirez) with at least 110 RBI for the first time since 1950 (Bobby Doerr, Walt Dropo, Vern Stephens). There have been five Red Sox teams with three players with 110+ RBI: 1940, 1946, 1948, 1950, 2016.

J.A. Happ / Eduardo Rodriguez

Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Betts, RF
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, 1B
Young, LF
Bradley, CF
Hill, 3B
Vazquez, C

It is official: The Red Sox will play against Cleveland in the ALDS.

Today's Toronto Sun:

G160: Red Sox 5, Blue Jays 3

Blue Jays - 000 030 000 - 3 10  2
Red Sox   - 100 000 40x - 5 10  0

David Ortiz snapped a 3-3 tie with a line drive two-run homer to right field. It was his 38th rally killer of the season. Ortiz also got Boston on the board with an RBI-single in the first inning.

The Red Sox trailed 3-1 when Andrew Benintendi started the seventh with a double. Blue Jays catcher Russell Martin committed a throwing error on Dustin Pedroia's short grounder, and Benintendi scored. Pedroia went to third on a wild pitch and scored on Mookie Betts's single to center, tying the game. Brett Cecil game in from the pen and Ortiz took the goggled lefty deep.

The runs were especially welcome since the Red Sox had stranded two runners in the fourth, and wasted Pedroia's leadoff double in the fifth and Xander Bogaerts's one-out triple in the sixth.

Koji Uehara allowed a walk and a double with one out in the top of the eighth, but got a pop-up and a grounder to third to end the Jays' threat.

Craig Kimbrel faced Toronto's 3-4-5 hitters in the top of the ninth. Edwin Encarnacion grounded to third. Jose Bautista walked on five pitches. Martin fouled to first. Kimbrel's first pitch to Troy Tulowitzki was wild, and Bautista went to second. Kimbrel couldn't find the plate and ended up walking Tulowitzki. Dalton Pompey pinch-ran. With the potential tying runs on base, Dioner Navarro hit for Justin Smoak. Kimbrel fanned him on three pitches to end the game.

With the Orioles beating the Yankees and the Tigers topping Atlanta, the Blue Jays (having lost four straight) are in danger of stumbling out of the wild card race.

Pedroia went 3-for-5, and now has 201 hits. It's the second time in his career he has topped 200 hits; he finished his MVP season in 2008 with 213. ... Ortiz and Benintendi each had two hits.

Marco Estrada / Rick Porcello

Pedroia, 2B
Holt, 3B
Betts, RF
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, 1B
Bogaerts, SS
Bradley, CF
Leon, C
Benintendi, LF

These pitchers faced each other back on September 9 at Skydome. Boston won that game 13-3 and I expect (nay, I demand) more of the same tonight.

The Red Sox are two games behind the Rangers for best record in the AL with three games remaining, so Boston will likely face the Cleveland Titos in the ALDS next Thursday. As MLB.com noted: "To face another opponent besides Cleveland, the Red Sox would have to sweep the Blue Jays at home this weekend and the Rangers would have to be swept in Texas by the last-place Tampa Bay Rays."

In the AL Wild Card race, the Blue Jays and Orioles are tied for the top spot(s), with the Tigers 1.5 GB and the Mariners 2 GB. The AL Wild Card game will be played next Tuesday.

Also: An image of David Ortiz has been mowed into the Fenway outfield grass.

G159: Yankees 5, Red Sox 1

Red Sox - 000 100 000 - 1  4  0
Yankees - 100 012 01x - 5  8  0

CC Sabathia pitched well (7.1-4-1-2-8, 105) as the Yankees finished a three-game sweep of the Red Sox.

New York's three wins were utterly meaningless, though, as the AL-East-champion Red Sox will be playing in the ALDS next week, while the fourth-place Yankees will watch that (and every other) postseason series at home on their big-screen TVs.

During the game, the Yankees were mathematically eliminated from the 2016 postseason. Enjoy your sweep, losers!

Xander Boagerts hit a solo home run in the fourth. ... David Ortiz struck out and walked in his two plate appearances.

Henry Owens / CC Sabathia

Hill, 3B
Benintendi, LF
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Young, RF
Bradley, CF
Hanigan, C
Shaw, 1B
Marrero, 2B

All I know is that the Red Sox will be playing baseball next week ... and the Yankees will not.

David Ortiz: "I wanted to celebrate on that field so bad, but it is what it is. We're going to celebrate anyway."

Jackie Bradley: "[A]s soon as we got in here, we quickly got over it. We're ecstatic. We're glad to be able to go to the postseason and make some noise."

John Farrell: "I told them, don't let one inning take away from what they've done for seven full months."

John Henry: "When a team is as effective as this team has been on the road late in the season, you know there's something special. I feel pretty good. Let's put it this way: Where we are now, I wouldn't want to play us going into the playoffs because this is a really talented team and really tough."

Red Sox-Yankees Walk-Off Grand Slams

April 14, 1933: Red Ruffing (NY's starting pitcher), Yankees 6-2
August 12, 1942: Charlie Keller, Yankees 8-4
July 11, 1959: Don Buddin, Red Sox 8-4 (10)
September 28, 2016: Mark Teixeira, Yankees 5-3

G158: Yankees 5, Red Sox 3

Red Sox - 000 000 030 - 3  5  0
Yankees - 000 000 005 - 5  3  1

The Boston Red Sox are the 2016 American League East Champions!

However ...

The Red Sox clinched their eighth division title because the Blue Jays lost to the Orioles. In the Bronx, however, Craig Kimbrel and Joe Kelly combined to blow the game in the bottom of the ninth as Mark Teixeira smacked a walk-off grand slam. The Red Sox had a golden opportunity to end New York's slim postseason hopes, but that will have to wait until tomorrow night.

After last-place finishes in 2014 and 2015, winning the division is very sweet. But I can only imagine that whatever post-game celebration the Red Sox had was awkward and subdued.

Clay Buchholz (6-1-0-2-6, 89) was magnificent. The only hit he allowed was a little infield roller by Brett Gardner in the fourth that third baseman Brock Holt could not made a bare-handed grab of.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox could do nothing with Yankees starter Bryan Mitchell (7-2-0-5-2, 94). They threatened in the fifth. Hanley Ramirez walked, but was caught stealing. Then Jackie Bradley walked. And Holt walked. With Mitchell unable to find the strike zone, Andrew Benintendi swung at the first pitch and fouled to first. Then Sandy Leon swung at the first pitch and grounded out to second. Maddening.

Once Mitchell was gone, though, the Red Sox pounced on Adam Warren. Leon reached when his routine grounder to second was booted by Starlin Castro. Marco Hernandez pinch-ran and had to stop at third on Dustin Pedroia's ground-rule double to right-center. Xander Bogaerts lined out to third and Hernandez was close enough to the bag to get back safely. David Ortiz was walked intentionally, loading the bases. Mookie Betts (6-for-10 against Warren) chopped a ground ball over the head of third baseman Chase Headley and down the left field line for a two-run double. After Ramirez was intentionally walked, New York brought in Tommy Layne. Bradley popped to short center and after pinch-hitter Aaron Hill was walked intentionally, Benintendi flied to left.

Koji Uehara needed 25 pitches to get through the eighth, but all he surrendered was a one-out walk. That was smooth sailing compared to what was to come. As Kimbrel took the mound in the ninth, news arrived from Toronto of Baltimore's victory and the Red Sox's clinching of the East. Now, three quick outs would make the night doubly enjoyable, as New York's (pipe) dreams of playoff baseball would also end. Gardner began the ninth with a hard single to center. After Gardner took second on indifference, Kimbrel walked Jacoby Ellsbury. Then Kimbrel threw a wild pitch. Then Kimbrel walked Gary Sanchez, loading the bases. Joe Kelly began warming up. Then Kimbrel walked Brian McCann to force in a run. (In Kimbrel's defense, his 2-2 pitch was very clearly a strike (and thus the first out), but home plate umpire John Tumpane (who was dogshit all night long) called it a ball.)

Manager John Farrell came out to change pitchers and Kimbrel actually looked surprised. He had thrown 28 pitches, recorded 0 outs and left the potential winning run on first - and he was shocked he was being lifted? Is he insane? Kelly began restoring some order, striking out Castro on three pitches and getting Didi Gregorius to foul out to Bogaerts. Kelly got a called strike on Teixeira, but the horse-faced douche bonnet hit his 0-1 pitch over the fence in right-center. And the Yankees began celebrating as if they had won the East (and were not actually 10 games out).

Clay Buchholz / Bryan Mitchell

Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Betts, RF
Ramirez, 1B
Bradley, CF
Holt, 3B
Benintendi, LF
Leon, C

Boston's magic number for winning the AL East is 1 with 5 games to play. ... Also: Orioles/Blue Jays.

BOS  --- 
TOR  5.0
BAL  7.0
MFY 11.0

G157: Yankees 6, Red Sox 4

Red Sox - 000 002 200 - 4 10  1
Yankees - 200 011 20x - 6 13  1

It was a frustrating Tuesday night in the Bronx.

David Price (6.1-12-6-1-2, 89) had an ineffective start, allowing three home runs, John Farrell had a slow hook on Price, the Red Sox's bats were cold against the immortal Luis Cessa (6-5-2-1-2, 84), and David Ortiz, in his final visit to Yankee Stadium(s), batted in clutch situations in three different late innings, and came up empty each time. And so Boston's 11-game winning streak came to an end.

Price put his teammates in an early hole when he gave up a two-run homer to Gary Sanchez in the first inning. Singles by Austin Romine and Tyler Austin (New York's 8th- and 9th-place hitters) set the table in the fifth, and Jacoby Ellsbury singled home Romine to make it 3-0.

Boston narrowed that gap to 3-2 in the top of the sixth. Andrew Benintendi reached second when his ground ball up the first base line was thrown away by Cessa. Dustin Pedroia promptly singled him home. Xander Bogaerts doubled into the left field corner, putting runners at second and third with no outs. The heart of Boston's order squandered the golden opportunity. Ortiz struck out, Mookie Betts grounded to second (scoring Pedroia), and Hanley Ramirez struck out. New York got one run back in the bottom half on a home run by Didi Gregorius.

In the seventh, with Cessa out of the game, the Red Sox rallied. Facing lefty Tommy Layne, Aaron Hill, pinch-hitting for Brock Holt, homered to left. Jackie Bradley singled and Sandy Leon bunted him to second. Benintendi struck out, but Pedroia lined a single to right, scoring JBJ and tying the game at 4-4.

Price was shaky all night and Farrell would have been justified in pulling him after six innings, even though he had thrown only 76 pitches. But Farrell let Price start the seventh - and the game was lost within two batters. Romine singled and Austin homered to right, giving the Yankees a 6-4 lead. Farrell actually left Price in to allow a single to Brett Gardner and a soft line out by Ellsbury before Brad Ziegler induced a double play grounder from Sanchez.

In the eighth, trailing by two, Ramirez walked with one out. But Chris Young forced him at second and Bradley fanned.

The Red Sox faced Tyler Clippard in the ninth. With one out, Benintendi doubled into the right field corner and Pedroia walked. Even though Clippard was struggling to find the strike zone and seemingly unwilling to throw fastballs, Bogaerts swung at the first pitch - and popped out to shortstop. That left matters in the hands of Ortiz, as the potential go-ahead run with two outs. Throughout his career, Big Papi had tormented the Yankees so many times in situations like this one, but some Ortiz heroics were not in the cards tonight. He swung badly at a 1-1 pitch in the dirt and eventually struck out on a full-count off-speed pitch.

The Blue Jays beat the Orioles, so Boston's magic number remains at 1.

David Price / Luis Cessa

Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Betts, RF
Ramirez, 1B
Holt, 3B
Bradley, CF
Leon, C
Benintendi, LF

Yankees Say Good Riddance To David Ortiz, The Best To Ever Own Them
Mike Vaccaro, Post:

Late in the '03 season, Steinbrenner took The Post's Joel Sherman aside and insisted he'd told GM Brian Cashman to look into making Ortiz a Yankee only to be told by Cashman:  "We don't need him. We have Jason Giambi. We have Nick Johnson."

Steinbrenner backed off. But by September of 2003, after Ortiz had already started to hint at the kind of damage he would rain down on the Yankees, Steinbrenner insisted that he'd seen what was coming.

"I said, 'Find a way!'" Steinbrenner told Sherman. "'He's going to be tough.'" ...

Ortiz came at along at precisely the right time, and he dived into this ancient cauldron with both feet, and alongside his countrymen Martinez and Manny Ramirez he immediately found ways to taunt and torture the Bombers. ...

And here Ortiz is. Here he remains. Here is Big Papi, set to take one last curtain call in The Bronx these next three days, a pit stop on the way to one more postseason and perhaps a fourth World Series. Here is Papi, who has been equal parts feared and loathed in the Bronx ... 240 games. 271 hits. 53 homers, 75 doubles, even a triple. 140 walks. A batting split-line of .307/.397/.574, an OPS of .970. ...

Ortiz is the Yankees killer to end all Yankees killers. He is the one who has given more night sweats to more Yankees pitchers (and Yankees fans) than anybody, mostly because he has played for a team (and for a city) that has been the object of Yankees obsession from the moment he arrived.

Hanley Ramirez has 29 home runs and 110 RBI this season. If he hits one more home run, the Red Sox will have three batters top 30/100 in a season for the first time.

                HR   RBI
David Ortiz     37   124
Mookie Betts    31   109
Hanley Ramirez  29   110

The last two teams to have three 30/100 hitters were the 2015 Blue Jays and 2006 White Sox.

One of my favourite Red Sox teams - the 1977 Crunch Bunch - came close, with four hitters topping 25/100 and three hitters exceeding 30/95:

                  HR   RBI
Jim Rice          39   114
Butch Hobson      30   112
Carl Yastrzemski  28   102
Carlton Fisk      26   102
George Scott      33    95

Boston's magic number for winning the AL East is 1 with 6 games to play. It is extremely likely that the Red Sox will celebrate clinching the division in front of tens of thousands of Yankee fans (whose team did not spend even one day in first place this year). ... Also: Orioles/Blue Jays.

BOS  --- 
TOR  6.0
BAL  7.0
MFY 12.0

G156: Red Sox 3, Rays 2 (10)

Red Sox - 101 000 000 1 - 3  8  0
Rays    - 010 000 010 0 - 2  7  1

On a day the baseball world mourned the sudden death of Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez, killed in a boating accident Sunday morning at the age of 24, the Red Sox extended their winning streak to 11 games and lowered their magic number for clinching the AL East to two.

This is the Red Sox's longest winning streak in September since the 1949 team won 11 straight (September 13-27).

Led by Eduardo Rodriguez (5.1-3-1-2-13, 113) Red Sox pitchers struck out 23 Rays hitters. Rodriguez and Heath Hembree combined to strike out 11 consecutive batters in the middle innings, a new major league record. From the second inning to the eighth, the Red Sox recorded 17 straight outs by strikeout. There were two walks, a HBP and a single in that stretch, so 21 Rays batters came to the plate over parts of seven innings and hit only one fair ball. MLB.com reports there was an "astonishing two-hour and 11-minute drought in between balls put in play".

Mookie Betts singled in Xander Bogaerts in the first inning, but the Rays tied the game in the second. Dustin Pedroia snapped the 1-1 tie with a solo home run in the third. In the home half of the eighth, after Matt Barnes put two men on base, Fernando Abad gave up a run-scoring single to Brad Miller. Manager John Farrell had been relying on Robbie Ross and Robbie Scott as his bullpen lefties, so it was odd that he would rely on Abad in such a high-leverage situation. Perhaps this was a small postseason try-out for Abad? If so, he failed.

In the top of the tenth, Pedroia singled off Eddie Gamboa. Bogaerts lined out to left, but David Ortiz (3-for-5) doubled to center. The throw to the plate beat Pedroia but he juked to the right, avoiding Luke Maile's initial attempt at a tag. Pedroia danced around briefly, trying to get in and touch home plate. He saw his opening and leapt over Maile and the catcher tried tagging his leg. It looked like Maile tagged Pedroia's left leg, but the ball came loose, and he was called safe. After a review, the call was upheld. (I think the call should have been reversed. It looked like the ball came loose after Maile's tag, not in the process of making the tag.)

Joe Kelly had come into the game in the eighth after Abad's one-batter stint. He closed that inning and pitched the ninth and tenth. Richie Shaffer began the home tenth with a hard single that ate up third baseman Travis Shaw and went into left field. Kelly struck out Logan Forsythe and Jaff Decker (though Decker took eight pitches). Evan Longoria singled to right, moving Shaffer to second. Miller lined Kelly's first pitch to left for the third out.

Eduardo Rodriguez / Jake Odorizzi

Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Betts, RF
Ramirez, 1B
Holt, 3B
Young, LF
Benintendi, CF
Vazquez, C

The Red Sox will play postseason baseball in 2016, as they have secured (at the very least) a spot in the AL Wild Card Game. Boston (91-64) is one game behind the Rangers for the AL's best record (home-field advantage throughout the postseason). (The current postseason picture.)

Boston's magic number for winning the AL East is 3 with 7 games to play. ... Also today: Yankees/Blue Jays (1 PM) and Diamondbacks/Orioles (1:30 PM).

BOS  --- 
TOR  5.5
BAL  7.0
MFY 11.5

G155: Red Sox 6, Rays 4

Red Sox - 010 100 400 - 6  8  0
Rays    - 003 000 001 - 4 11  0

Dustin Pedroia's two-out grand slam in the seventh inning wiped out Tampa Bay's 3-2 lead and catapulted the Red Sox to their tenth straight victory (their longest winning streak since April 2009). It was the fourth grand slam of Pedroia's career.

It's a good thing we don't actually have robot umpires because Danny Farquhar's 1-2 pitch to Pedroia in that at-bat was in the strike zone and should have been called strike 3, ending the inning. But home plate arbiter Carlos Torres called it ball 2. After fouling a pitch off, Pedroia cracked his four-run dong. Manager John Farrell mixed and matched relievers in the seventh, and Koji Uehara Craig Kimbrel took charge of the final two innings.

The Red Sox scored first in this one, when Brock Holt doubled home Mookie Betts in the second.

Rick Porcello (6.1-8-3-1-9, 116) was hit hard in the early innings. He escaped a jam in the second, when the Rays had runners at second and third and one out, thanks to some marvelous fielding by Pedroia and Holt. Porcello was not so lucky in the third. With two on and two outs, Brad Miller drove both runners in with a double over Jackie Bradley's head in center. Corey Dickerson followed with a single that made it 3-1.

Boston got one of those runs back right away, as Betts walked and stole second and scored on Hanley Ramirez's single. But Holt grounded into an inning-ending double play.

The Rays threatened to add to their lead in the sixth. Miller walked and went to third on Nick Franklin's single to center. But Porcello struck out Mikie Mahtook and got a fielder's choice grounder to shortstop from Alexei Ramirez.

Ramirez began the lucky seventh against Ryan Garton by grounding a single to right. Holt lined a single to center and the table was set. Chris Young was out on a dribbler in front of the plate, catcher to first, and the runners advanced to second and third. Lefty Dana Eveland came in to face Bradley and walked him on four pitches, loading the bases. Rays manager Kevin Cash called on Farquhar, who got Sandy Leon to hit a sharp grounder to Longoria at third. He threw home to force Ramirez for the second out; there was no relay throw. Pedroia fell behind 0-2, but battled, fouling off four pitches before finally homering to left.

Porcello was at 104 pitches at that point and when the Red Sox went ahead, it seemed all but certain that his night was over. He now qualified for the "win" and the bullpen could likely handle the three-inning load. But Farrell had him on the mound for the bottom of the seventh. Porcello allowed a single to ninth-place hitter Curt Casali and then struck out Logan Forsythe. With Porcello now at 116 pitches, his second-highest total of the season, Farrell finally pulled him and went to the bullpen. Robbie Scott allowed a single to Kevin Kiermaier, bringing the potential tying run to the plate. Brad Ziegler got Evan Longoria to line out to center and Robbie Ross retired Miller on a fly to Betts on the warning track in right.

Uehara allowed a leadoff double to Dickerson in the eighth. With Franklin batting, Uehara's 0-1 pitch was in the dirt and got away from Leon and rolled a bit towards first base. Dickerson took off for third and was easily gunned down. Franklin flied to right and Mahtook was called out on strikes (although strike three was probably actually ball 4; another gift for the Red Sox).

Kimbrel allowed a solo homer to Forsythe with two outs in the ninth, but he struck out Kiermaier (though it took 10 pitches) to end the game.

Betts had reached base at least three times in five straight games - the Red Sox's record is seven - but that streak came to an end, as he only singled and walked today. (The Red Sox record of consecutive games reaching base at least twice is 23 (!), by Ted Williams in 1957. TSW also holds the second-highest total (21) and the third-highest total (18).)

Betts now has 208 hits. Only eight Red Sox players have had as many or more hits in a season.

Most Hits in Red Sox Season, 1901-2016

                   YEAR  HITS
Wade Boggs         1985   240
Tris Speaker       1912   222
Wade Boggs         1988   214
Jim Rice           1978   213
Dustin Pedroia     2008   213
Adrian Gonzalez    2011   213
Jacoby Ellsbury    2011   212
Wade Boggs         1983   210
Nomar Garciaparra  1997   209
Johnny Pesky       1946   208
Mookie Betts       2016   208

There are seven games remaining in the regular season for Betts to add to his total.

The Blue Jays beat the Yankees 3-0 so Boston's magic number is now three. New York has been shutout in three straight games (for the first time since July 27-28 1975 (the Red Sox won the first two of those three games, with a 1-0 and 6-0 doubleheader sweep) and is 11.5 GB.

Rick Porcello / Matt Andriese

Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Betts, RF
Ramirez, 1B
Holt, 3B
Young, LF
Bradley, CF
Leon, C

Matt Collins at OTM is wondering who will start ALDS Game 1.

Last night's game was only the second time that David Ortiz hit a first-inning home run that accounted for Boston's only runs in a win. The other time was on June 7, 2007, when a solo home run in the first led the Red Sox to a 1-0 win over the A's (Curt Schilling's near no-hitter).

Boston's magic number for winning the AL East is 4 with 8 games to play. ... Also: Yankees/Blue Jays and Diamondbacks/Orioles.

BOS  --- 
TOR  5.5
BAL  7.0
MFY 10.5

G154: Red Sox 2, Rays 1

Red Sox - 200 000 000 - 2  9  0
Rays    - 010 000 000 - 1  6  0

The red hot Red Sox (90-64) extended their winning streak to nine games and lowered their division-clinching magic number to four. Any combination of Boston wins and Toronto losses totalling four will give the Red Sox the 2016 AL East flag.

David Ortiz hit a two-run homer in the first inning (#37) and the Red Sox pitching staff made that dong stand up, holding Tampa Bay to only one run.

Ortiz now has 124 RBI, which is a new record for a player in his final season. Shoeless Joe Jackson had 123 RBI in 1920 but was banned from baseball before the 1921 season. The home run also tied Ortiz with Lou Gehrig for 10th place on the all-time list for extra-base hits (1,190). Ken Griffey and Rafael Palmeiro are just above Ortiz, at 1,192. Big Papi needs three more extra-base hits in the last eight games of the season to move into 8th place all-time.

Drew Pomeranz (5-4-1-0-4, 78) gave up a solo homer to Mikie Mahtook in the second and pitched out of a couple of jams in the following two innings. Luke Maile doubled with one out in the third and went to third base on a groundout. Pomeranz battled Kevin Kiermaier for nine pitches, and finally got him to fly to left.

With one down in the fourth, Brad Miller doubled to left and Mahtook singled him to third. Pomeranz escaped trouble when Corey Dickerson grounded to Bogaerts who started a 6-4-3 double play (the third out was close but the Rays declined to review it). Pomeranz pitched a clean fifth, with two strikeouts.

Joe Kelly took over in the sixth. Facing the top of the Rays' order, he got two groundouts and a foul pop. Robbie Ross retired the first two batters in the seventh, but Dickerson cracked a ground-rule double to right-center. Matt Barnes came in and got pinch-hitter Nick Franklin to pop to shortstop.

The Red Sox had a chance to fatten their lead in the top of the eighth when Danny Farquhar walked three batters (one intentionally). Batting with the bases loaded, Brock Holt fouled out to Longoria who made the catch down the line near the bullpen mounds.

Barnes stayed on the mound for the eighth and struck out Bobby Wilson on three pitches. He then struck out pinch-hitter Jaff Decker on three pitches. Barnes lost the strike zone and walked Logan Forsythe on five pitches (although ball four should have been called strike two). Manager John Farrell called on lefty Robby Scott to face the left-hand-batting Kiermaier. Scott got ahead 0-2, then missed with two pitches, before Kiermaier grounded out to third.

The fact that Barnes and Scott pitched the eighth meant that Koji Uehara was unavailable. Farrell was also staying away from Craig Kimbrel, as Kimbrel had pitched in each of the last three games, throwing 14, 5, and 11 pitches. So the ninth inning belonged to Brad Ziegler, facing Tampa Bay's 3-4-5 hitters.

Evan Longoria doubled to the wall in left-center, immediately putting the pressure on. Miller popped up a 2-2 pitch to shortstop. Mahtook struck out, lunging at an outside 1-2 pitch. Ziegler intentionally walked Dickerson, putting the potential winning run on base, and faced Juniel Querecuto (who was appearing in his second major league game). Ziegler kept everything down, and most of it away, and struck out Querecuto out on a 2-2 pitch to end the game.

Mookie Betts reached base four times, on three singles and a walk. Betts now has 207 hits, which leads all MLB players (Houston's Jose Altuve has 206).

Chris Archer took the loss, his 19th of the season. He is the first pitcher in Rays history to lose 19 games in a season.

The Yankees lost to the Blue Jays 9-0 and have been eliminated from the AL East race.

Drew Pomeranz / Chris Archer

Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Betts, RF
Ramirez, 1B
Shaw, 3B
Bradley, CF
Holaday, C
Holt, LF

WEEI's John Tomase calls the Red Sox "the most complete team in baseball":

The deficiencies of April, May, June, and July now feel like strengths. The starting pitching, among the worst in the AL for three months, has been so good for the past two that the Red Sox rank fourth in the AL in ERA.

The bullpen, a trouble spot as recently as August, now looks unhittable, thanks to the return of setup man Koji Uehara, who has been lights out, and the return to form -- with a vengeance -- of closer Craig Kimbrel. The two finished Thursday's win with an inning and two strikeouts apiece. The bullpen as a whole owns a 0.82 ERA in September.

"Big Papi Immortalized In Donuts" - 10,000 donuts, to be exact.

Boston's magic number for winning the AL East is 5 with 9 games to play. ... Also: Yankees/Blue Jays and Diamondbacks/Orioles.

BOS --- 
TOR 5.5
BAL 7.0
MFY 9.5

G153: Red Sox 5, Orioles 3

Red Sox - 120 010 100 - 5  9  0
Orioles - 003 000 000 - 3  6  1

It seemed like David Price was never fully comfortable on the mound, taking more time than usual between pitches, but he gave the Red Sox a solid outing (7-6-3-2-5, 99). Over his last four innings, Price allowed only one hit and one walk.

Koji Uehara and Craig Kimbrel pitched one inning of relief apiece, both relievers striking out two batters. They have become a dominating duo out of the bullpen. Uehara has faced 27 batters since returning to the team and retired 22 of them, including 10 by strikeout. Kimbrel is 12-for-12 in save chances since coming off the disabled list and has not allowed a run in his last 16 games.

It was the Red Sox's eighth straight win, their longest streak of the season. They also pulled off the feat of sweeping consecutive four-game series for the first time since July 1-7, 1968 when they beat Oakland 3-0, 4-3, 4-3 (11) and 7-2, then swept the Twins 4-2, 4-2, 4-3, and 6-3. The Red Sox lead the East by 5.5 games over Toronto. The Red Sox now head to Tampa Bay for a weekend series against the last-place Rays.

The Red Sox battered Chris Tillman (1.2-5-3-3-2, 63), who recorded only five outs. With two down in the first, Mookie Betts grounded a single to center. David Ortiz drew a full-count walk and Hanley Ramirez singled up the middle for one run.

Jackie Bradley began the second with his seventh triple of the year, a rope into the right field corner. Sandy Leon singled him home with a first-pitch hit to right. Tillman retired Andrew Benintendi and Dustin Pedroia, but he gave up a single to Brock Holt and walked Betts and Ortiz, the last free pass bringing in Boston's third run, and ending his night.

Price also worked with men on base in the early innings. He allowed a two-out single in the first and a two-out single and walk in the second. In the third, Chris Davis and Manny Machado both singled with one out. After Mark Trumbo struck out, Trey Mancini hit a three-run homer to deep left, tying the game.

Boston left eight men on base over the first four innings, including two in the fourth. Travis Shaw opened the fifth with a walk and, after Vance Worley recorded two strikeouts, went to second on a wild pitch. Benintendi's hard single to right scored Shaw, giving the Red Sox a 4-3 lead, but the throw home was cut off and Benintendi was out trying to advance to second.

Baltimore's only threat after the third inning came in the sixth when Mancini doubled to lead off the frame. Price did not buckle, though, and retired the next three batters, on a grounder to third, a fly to center, and a strikeout.

Ramirez gave the Red Sox a bit of insurance with an opposite-field dong in the seventh. ... Betts and Ortiz each reached base three times, on a single and two walks.

David Price / Chris Tillman

Pedroia, 2B
Holt, SS
Betts, RF
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, 1B
Shaw, 3B
Bradley, CF
Leon, C
Benintendi, LF

Elias reports that the Red Sox's seven consecutive victories over division opponents (the Yankees and Orioles, in this case) ties the franchise's longest such streak in a single season in the last 26 years. Since 1991, the only other time the Red Sox won seven consecutive games against AL East teams was in 2003.

Boston's magic number for winning the AL East is 6 with 10 games to play.

BOS --- 
TOR 5.0
BAL 6.0

G152: Red Sox 5, Orioles 1

Red Sox - 000 005 000 - 5  6  0
Orioles - 001 000 000 - 1  4  3

The Red Sox had loaded the bases for the third time in the game. (They had come up empty the previous two times.) Now, in the top of the sixth, Sandy Leon - 0-for-his-last-15 - batted with two outs. Orioles reliever Brad Brach had a 2-2 count, and was possibly one pitch away from getting out of the inning, and preserving Baltimore's 1-0 lead. The odds were clearly in Brach's favour, as he came into the game having stranded 24 of 25 inherited runners.

Two pitches later, Boston led 5-1.

Leon grounded Brach's 2-2 pitch to the right side. First baseman Chris Davis gloved the ball and threw across his body. His throw led Brach to the bag, but it was thrown far too hard and it sailed past Brach's outstretched glove and into foul territory. Two runs scored. Then Andrew Benintendi lined Brach's next pitch over the high wall/scoreboard in right field for a three-run homer. And the Red Sox - the hottest team in baseball (14-5 in September) - had a four-run lead.

The Orioles did not put up a fight after that. Clay Buchholz (7-3-1-2-4, 95) finished his strong outing with a perfect seventh. Brad Ziegler needed only nine pitches to retire the side in order. Robby Scott began the ninth by striking out Davis, but Mark Trumbo reached on an infield single. Manager John Farrell brought in Craig Kimbrel. Pinch-hitter Trey Mancini flied to right and Jonathan Schoop grounded to third.

Buchholz has a 3.09 ERA in his last six starts. With the win, the Red Sox now have their longest winning streak of the season: seven games. And because the Blue Jays lost to the Mariners, Boston also leads the AL East by five games, with 10 games to play.

The Orioles took the lead in the third on a series of plays that could hardly be blamed on Buchholz. Schoop got a single on a bloop that fell safely into short right-center. Matt Wieters dropped down a bunt and catcher Sandy Leon opted for the force at second. It was an ill-advised play and even a perfect throw might not have recorded the out. Leon's throw was offline and both runners were safe. Buchholz walked J.J. Hardy on four pitches, but two of them probably should have been called strikes. With the bases loaded, Adam Jones hit a sacrifice fly to left.

Boston had squandered several scoring chances before they finally scored. With two outs in the first, David Ortiz singled, Mookie Betts walked, and Travis Shaw singled. With the sacks full, Aaron Hill tapped a slow roller towards third. Manny Machado gunned a throw to first that just nipped Hill (the Red Sox considered challenging the call, but declined).

In the fourth, Betts singled to center and stole second as Shaw struck out. Wieters's throw to second hit Betts and caromed into left-center, and Mookie took third on the error. Hill then reached on catcher's interference when, as he was fouling off a 3-2 pitch, his bat hit Wieters's mitt. Ubaldo Jimenez then walked Jackie Bradley to load the bases. It was another golden opportunity for runs, but Leon grounded into a 3-6-1 double play.

Clay Buchholz / Ubaldo Jiménez

Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Betts, RF
Shaw, 1B
Hill, 3B
Bradley, CF
Leon, C
Benintendi, LF

Boston's magic number for winning the AL East is 8 with 11 games to play. ... Also: Blue Jays/Mariners.

BOS --- 
TOR 4.0
BAL 5.0

G151: Red Sox 5, Orioles 2

Red Sox - 001 100 300 - 5 11  0
Orioles - 000 010 100 - 2  6  0

David Ortiz's three-run home run extended the Red Sox's lead from 2-1 to 5-1, paving the way for Boston's sixth straight victory, tying a season-high. The Red Sox also won six in a row from July 6-16 and August 12-17. ... The Red Sox are an MLB-best 13-5 in September.

Eduardo Rodriguez (6.1-4-2-1-7, 90) retired the first 11 Orioles, just as Rick Porcello had done on Monday night. And again, Manny Machado broke up any thoughts of a Red Sox perfect game, this time by walking on four pitches.

By that time, the Red Sox had a 2-0 lead against Kevin Gausman (6.1-10-5-1-5, 101). They had runners on base in every inning against the Orioles starter. Boston stranded two in the first and wasted a leadoff double from Chris Young in the second. Mookie Betts (3-for-5, his 14th three-hit game of the year) singled to shallow left to start the third; it was Betts's 200th hit of the season. He went to third as Ortiz grounded a single to center and scored on Hanley Ramirez's fielder's choice out. Jackie Bradley belted a home run in the fourth.

Baltimore cut the lead to 2-1 when Trey Mancini, who was making his major league debut, homered in his second at-bat, in the fifth inning. Rodriguez got into a slight jam when Chris Davis singled with one out in the sixth. Machado tapped a grounder towards Marco Hernandez at second. Hernandez had to run in (while avoiding the baserunner) and fling the ball sideways but he recorded the out, Machado helping out by slowing himself up with a headfirst slide. With the tying run at second, Rodriguez battled Mark Trumbo for seven pitches before striking him out.

Hernandez and Betts started the seventh with singles. With one out, Ortiz cracked his 36th home run, setting a new record for dongs in a player's final season. Ortiz now has 121 RBI, his highest total since he led the AL with 137 in 2006.

Jonathan Schoop doubled off Rodriguez in the bottom of the seventh and after Matt Wieters lined out, manager John Farrell went to the bullpen. Matt Barnes got the second out, but then allowed an infield single that scored Schoop and another single that put Orioles at first and third. Brad Ziegler - facing Adam Jones as the potential tying run - ended the threat by getting Jones to fly to center.

Koji Uehara pitched a clean eighth, with two pop-ups and a strikeout. Craig Kimbrel - who now has not allowed a run in his last 14 appearances - issued a two-out walk in the ninth, but got the final out on a force play at second.

Eduardo Rodriguez / Kevin Gausman

Betts, RF
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, 1B
Shaw, 3B
Young, LF
Bradley, CF
Leon, C
Hernandez, 2B

Boston's magic number for winning the AL East is 9 with 12 games to play. ... Also: Blue Jays/Mariners.

BOS --- 
BAL 4.0
TOR 4.0

G150: Red Sox 5, Orioles 2

Red Sox - 002 030 000 - 5  9  0
Orioles - 000 100 010 - 2  4  1

Rick Porcello (9-4-2-0-7, 89) pitched his third complete game of the season as the Red Sox won their fifth straight game. Mookie Betts and David Ortiz hit two-run homers as Boston opened up a four-game lead in the AL East. It was the 11th consecutive start Porcello has thrown seven innings or more while allowing three earned runs or fewer.

After stranding three men on base in the first two innings, Boston broke through against Dylan Bundy (5-6-5-2-3, 99) in the third. Xander Bogaerts lined a one-out single to right and Betts cracked a home run to left. It was his eighth dong at Camden Yards this season; he has only six homers in all other road parks combined. It's the most homers in a season by a visiting player since the Orioles moved to Baltimore in 1954.

Porcello retired the first 11 Orioles (on only 30 pitches!) and was in complete command throughout. Baltimore's first base runner of the night was Manny Machado, who was hit by a pitch with two outs in the fourth. He seemed to think the HBP was intentional, and he and Porcello traded words. (Why Porcello would hit a man on purpose to break up a perfect game bid and bring the majors' leading HR hitter to the plate as the tying run is something only Machado can answer.) Mark Trumbo followed with a double off the base of the right field wall and Machado scored easily.

Boston expanded their lead in the fifth. Andrew Benintendi doubled over Adam Jones's head in center and scored on Dustin Pedroia's single to left. After Bogaerts flied out, Ortiz golfed his 35th home run to deep right.

Jones homered in the eighth to close out the scoring.

NESN had a timely shot of Ortiz untucking his uniform shirt after Porcello recorded the second out in the ninth. Clearly, the third out was a mere formality and Flo had to get ready for the post-game celebration. ... In addition to his homer, Betts also walked twice. ... Pedroia and Jackie Bradley each had two hits.

Porcello's pitches by inning: 8-7-7 14-12-14 8-9-10. Of Porcello's 89 pitches, 65 were strikes. He went to a three-ball count only once: Trumbo in the sixth, Porcello's 22nd batter of the game. He went to two balls on only five other hitters.

Rick Porcello / Dylan Bundy

Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Betts, RF
Ramirez, 1B
Leon, C
Holt, 3B
Bradley, CF
Benintendi, LF

The Red Sox, fresh off their decimation of the Yankees' postseason hopes and dreams, head to Baltimore to wreck the October aspirations of another hated rival.

It's the first stop on a three-city, 10-game road trip (four at Orioles, three at Rays, three at Yankees), after which the Red Sox end the regular season with three games against the Blue Jays.

In his last 19 games, Hanley Ramirez has a 1.355 OPS (.405/.463/.892) and 11 home runs.

Boston's magic number for winning the AL East is 11 with 13 games to play. ... Also: Blue Jays/Mariners.

BOS --- 
BAL 3.0
TOR 4.0

G149: Red Sox 5, Yankees 4

Yankees - 101 200 000 - 4 11  1
Red Sox - 000 031 10x - 5 10  0

Hanley Ramirez completed his utter destruction of New York's pitching staff by blasting two more home runs on Sunday night.

Ramirez drove in four of Boston's five runs, as the Red Sox swept a four-game series from their longtime rivals, Boston's first sweep of the Yankees in a series of four or more games in 26 years (June 4-7, 1990).

Hammerin' Hanley went 9-for-16 (.563) in the series, with four home runs and nine RBI. Since August 11, Ramirez has driven in 44 runs, the most of any player in MLB.

The Yankees are now eight games out in the East and four games out of the wild-card race with 13 games left on the schedule, which means only one thing: YED is fast approaching.

The Yankees blew leads in three of the four games:

Thursday: Yankees lead 5-1 in 8th inning, lose 7-5
Friday: Yankees never lead, lose 7-4
Saturday: Yankees lead 5-2 in 5th inning, lose 6-5
Sunday: Yankees lead 4-0 in 5th inning, lost 5-4

Down by four runs in the fifth, Bryan Holaday got the Red Sox started with a double to center. After Dustin Pedroia flied out to left, Xander Bogaerts walked. Mookie Betts lined back to CC Sabathia and on the pitcher's throwing error, the runners moved up to second and third. Ramírez then cranked a homer to left, cutting New York's lead to 4-3.

Sabathia allowed three straight hits - Travis Shaw, Aaron Hill, and Jackie Bradley - to start the sixth and Boston tied the game. Ramirez, facing Tyler Clippard in the seventh, homered to snap the 4-4 tie in the seventh.

The Yankees had one hit in each of the last three innings, but could not advance any runner past first base. Koji Uehara closed the door on New York in the ninth.

Also: Mookie Betts made two diving catches, including one in the ninth inning.

CC Sabathia / Drew Pomeranz

Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Betts, RF
Ramirez, DH
Young, LF
Shaw, 1B
Hill, 3B
Bradley, CF
Holaday, C

John Farrell, on giving David Ortiz the night off (only a few days after saying Ortiz would likely start every game for the rest of the regular season):

When I talked with David after Friday night's game, in large part because of the number of times he was on base and the extent to which he ran, with a quick turnaround on Saturday, we talked about the upcoming two days — yesterday and today. With the late-night arrival, likely four right-handed starters in Baltimore, felt like this was the day to give him down.

Boston's magic number for winning the AL East is 12 with 14 games to play. ... In the East, this afternoon: Rays/Orioles and Blue Jays/Angels.

BOS --- 
TOR 3.0
BAL 3.0
MFY 7.0

G148: Red Sox 6, Yankees 5

Yankees - 003 200 000 - 5  9  0
Red Sox - 002 020 20x - 6 10  0

Xander Bogaerts (3-for-4) drove in three runs with two doubles and a home run and scored three runs. It was Mookie Betts who drove in Bogaerts as the tying run in the seventh inning with one of his two hits. Then Betts scored the go-ahead run three batters later on a wild pitch by Yankees reliever Adam Warren.

The Red Sox's third straight win over the Yankees dropped the New Yorkers a whopping seven games out of first place, and further darkened their barely-illuminated postseason hopes.

Hanley Ramirez also had three hits and Jackie Bradley reached base three times, on a single and two walks.

David Price (6-9-5-0-7, 113) had two rough innings in which he put his teammates in 3-0 and 5-2 holes. Austin Romine singled to start the Yankees' third and scored one out later on Brett Gardner's triple. Price retired Jacoby Ellsbury for the second out and had a 2-2 count on Gary Sanchez before the rookie DH homered to deep left.

Boston immediately closed the gap to 3-2 on doubles by Andrew Benintendi and Bogaerts, a passed ball and a run-scoring groundout from David Ortiz. But New York extended their lead in their next at-bat. One-out singles by Didi Gregorius and Chase Headley set the table for Romine, who doubled off the Wall to make it 5-2.

Jackie Bradley walked to start the home half of the fifth. Benintendi and Dustin Pedroia both popped up, but Bogaerts turned on an inside pitch and drove it over the Wall for a two-run homer. That ended Bryan Mitchell's afternoon (4.1-5-4-1-3, 74).

In the sixth, Hanley Ramirez doubled off Luis Severino. With one out, Sandy Leon bunted Ramirez to third. Severino then walked Bradley and Benintendi on full counts to load the bases. Severino also had a full count on Pedroia, but managed to strike him out looking. Pedroia barked at the call, but it was a correct one.

Bogaerts started the seventh by lifting a fly ball out near the end of the bullpens by the triangle. Ellsbury ran over and attempted a sliding catch, but he missed the ball and banged into the padded sidewall, and Bogaerts had a double. Lefty Tommy Layne came in and got Ortiz to fly to center; Bogaerts advanced to third.

Joe Girardi called on Warren and also brought in his infield. Betts promptly chopped a 1-1 pitch that bounced high over Gregorius's head at shortstop and went into left field for a game-tying single. Ramirez followed with a hot shot past Headley's dive at third for another single. Travis Shaw grounded out to first, but also moved the runners to second and third, with two outs. Then Romine could not handle Warren's 1-1 pitch to Sandy Leon. The ball bounced in front of the plate and caromed up the first base line in foul territory. Betts scored easily - giving Boston a 6-5 lead - and Ramirez raced to third and rounded the bag. When Romine grabbed the baseball and turned his back on the plate, thinking the play was over, Ramirez took off for home. Romine finally got wind of what was happening and he sprinted to the plate. It was close, but Ramirez was tagged out.

Matt Barnes, who had come in to strike out Sanchez to end the seventh, began the eighth by getting two groundouts. Then he walked Gregorius and John Farrell called on Craig Kimbrel for a four-out save. Kimbrel struck out Headley to end the eighth and then he struck out the side - Romine, Mason Williams, and Gardner - in the ninth. No fuss, no muss.

Bryan Mitchell / David Price

Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Betts, RF
Ramirez, 1B
Shaw, 3B
Leon, C
Bradley, CF
Benintendi, LF

Hanley Ramirez: "Now is the time for everybody to get in the boat."

Price has a 2.44 ERA over his last 10 starts and 2.16 over his last seven. Price trails only Chris Sale for the most starts of at least eight innings this season (Sale 13, Price 10). Price's total is the most by a Red Sox pitcher since Pedro Martinez had 11 in 2002.

Boston's magic number for winning the AL East is 14 with 15 games to play. ... In the East: Rays/Orioles and Blue Jays/Angels.

BOS --- 
BAL 2.0
TOR 2.0
MFY 6.0