Red Sox eliminated from playoff contention after loss to Blue Jays

Red Sox eliminated from playoff contention after loss to Blue Jays originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Red Sox will miss the playoffs for the third consecutive season and the fourth time in five years.

They were officially eliminated from postseason contention after Wednesday’s 6-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. To clinch a playoff berth, they needed to win all four of their remaining games and get help from other teams in the American League Wild Card race.

The Red Sox entered the All-Star break comfortably in a Wild Card spot with a 53-42 record. They’ve watched their playoff hopes slowly slip away as they’ve gone 27-37 in the second half. Now, they’re fighting to simply finish above .500 for the first time since 2021.

“Outside of the walls here, nobody expected us to play all the way until now, meaningful games,” manager Alex Cora said after Wednesday’s defeat. “Our goal was to make it to the playoffs. It didn’t happen, but it’s a good learning experience for those kids over there. …

“At one point it felt like we were a playoff-caliber team, and then it just — we missed the opportunity, let’s put it that way. You look around, you look at the teams that are fighting, we had it right there and we blew it.”

Three straight seasons without a playoff appearance marks the Red Sox’ longest such streak in 30 years.

They’ll wrap up their 2024 season with a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park. The series will determine the third-place finisher in the AL East with Boston currently leading Tampa Bay by 1.5 games.