The Red Sox beat the Blue Jays 4-1 Tuesday to maintain possession of the second of three wild-card spots in a chaotic American League postseason race.
Detroit lost to Cleveland and Houston lost to the Athletics, which means nothing is set in stone — and probably won’t be until the Red Sox wrap up their series against the Tigers at Fenway Park this weekend. Boston has one game on the Tigers and two on the Astros.
The Yankees did clinch a playoff spot with their win over the White Sox on Tuesday. Toronto’s loss cut their division lead to just one game over New York. The Blue Jays have clinched at least a wild-card berth.
On Wednesday, the Red sox will pitch Garrett Crochet, who needs just eight outs to reach the 200-inning mark. That used to be a typical season for a starter. Now, with larger staffs, it’s an extraordinary accomplishment. Alex Speier has more here.
The Blue Jays will counter with Max Scherzer, who has a 5.06 ERA through 16 starts with Toronto this season.
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Here’s your preview.
Lineups
RED SOX (86-71): TBA
Pitching: LHP Garrett Crochet (17-5, 2.69 ERA)
BLUE JAYS (90-67): TBA
Pitching: RHP Max Scherzer (5-4, 5.06 ERA)
Time: 7:07 p.m.
TV, radio: NESN, WEEI-FM 93.7
Red Sox vs. Scherzer: Alex Bregman 1-7, Jarren Duran 1-3, Nathaniel Lowe 0-2, Trevor Story 1-8, Masataka Yoshida 2-3
Blue Jays vs. Crochet: Ernie Clement 3-8, Andrés Giménez 0-5, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 1-9, Tyler Heineman 2-3, Isiah Kiner-Falefa 0-3, Alejandro Kirk 0-3, Anthony Santander 0-8, Davis Schneider 0-6, George Springer 1-6, Myles Straw 0-5, Daulton Varsho 0-4
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Stat of the day: The Red Sox are 155-125 all-time at the Rogers Centre, good for a winning percentage of .554. It’s the best record of any AL club at the park — including the Blue Jays, who are second.
Notes: The Blue Jays, who led the division by five games on Sept. 16, have lost five of their past six games. They do hold the tiebreaker over the Yankees because of their 8-5 advantage in the season series. … The Blue Jays were upset with a couple of calls in the second inning on Tuesday. George Springer’s bases-loaded smash over third base was ruled to be foul, and then he was retired on a disputed called third strike. … Toronto is scheduled to start right-hander Max Scherzer (5-4, 5.06 ERA) on Wednesday. He is 5-6 with a 5.67 ERA in 13 career starts against the Red Sox but has not faced them since 2023. … Crochet is 3-1 with a 1.31 ERA in five career games (three starts) against the Blue Jays. In two starts against them in April, Crochet posted a 1-1 record and a 2.13 ERA. … Alex Cora juggled the rotation, moving Crochet to the middle game of the series and pushing Brayan Bello to the finale on Thursday. The move would set up Crochet to start the opener of a wild-card series should the Red Sox qualify. … Toronto’s Anthony Santander, who hasn’t played since May 29 due to inflammation in his left shoulder, is ready to play. He was reinstated from the 60-day injured list on Tuesday when Ty France was put on the IL with an oblique injury incurred during batting practice. … In a corresponding move, righthander Alek Manoah was DFAed. … Santander was off to a slow start this season before his injury. He did not play on Tuesday, but Schneider said he intends to work him into the lineup “whether it’s starting, whether it’s pinch hitting, whatever it may be.”
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Katie McInerney can be reached at katie.mcinerney@globe.com. Follow her on Instagram at @katiemac.sports.