The Boston Red Sox's playoff hopes already were on life support. This might be the death blow.
Red Sox ace Chris Sale has been placed on the 10-day injured list with elbow inflammation, and will seek a second opinion from famous surgeon Dr. James Andrews. That's never a good sign, considering Andrews is best known for performing surgery on damaged ligaments.
The defending World Series champions entered Sunday 6 1/2 games out of the second AL wild-card spot with just 37 games remaining. That's already a difficult hill to climb, and if Sale is forced to miss the rest of the season, it could become impossible for the Red Sox.
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Sale, 30, has finished in the top six of the AL Cy Young voting in each of the last seven seasons, but this year hasn't gone nearly as well for the left-hander, who's just 6-11 with a 4.40 ERA. However, his stuff still is dominant, as he has struck out 218 batters in 147 1/3 innings.
Without Sale, Boston's already shaky rotation becomes an even larger concern. The Red Sox don't have a single starter with an ERA under four, and two of their regulars are over five.
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From the A's standpoint, the Sale injury likely shrinks the wild-card race to just three teams: Oakland, Tampa Bay, and the runner-up in the AL Central, either Cleveland or Minnesota. The A's are just half a game behind the Rays for the second position and 1 1/2 games back of the Indians for the top spot.
Oakland Athletics
The A's lead the Red Sox by six games and probably have one less team to worry about now.