The Boston Red Sox have their work cut out for them if they hope to still be playing come October.
Entering Tuesday night's game vs. the Minnesota Twins, the Red Sox sit 5.5 games behind in the American League wild-card race. The Cleveland Indians and Tampa Bay Rays hold the top two spots with the Oakland Athletics trailing by only one game.
Although the odds may be stacked against the Red Sox, manager Alex Cora is staying optimistic. He channeled his inner Lloyd Christmas when discussing his team's playoff chances prior to Tuesday night's matchup.
“Well, we have an 8% chance, so I mean, like ‘Dumb and Dumber,’ there’s still a chance, I guess. At least in my eyes,” Cora said. “You control two things: the way you play and the Rays because we play four games (against them). You don’t control the Indians, you don’t control the A’s. That’s out of the equation. Although we started controlling the Indians when we beat them two out of three."
The Red Sox have won 11 of their last 15 games, so they're certainly picking the right time to get hot. They'll need to keep that momentum going throughout September, especially when they take on the Rays in Tampa Bay for a three-game series beginning on Sept. 20.
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