After taking two of three from the Cleveland Guardians, the Boston Red Sox opened their weekend series against the Arizona Diamondbacks with an embarrassing 10-5 loss.
Still, the Red Sox remain in the thick of the American League playoff race. If the season were to end today, they would finish third in the AL Central behind the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees and secure the second AL Wild Card spot.
The Red Sox's magic number to officially clinch a spot in the postseason is 16. This magic number represents the total number of wins by the Red Sox and the total number of losses by the closest competing team, needed to make it mathematically impossible for that team to overtake Boston for a postseason berth.