Cleveland beat the Red Sox 1-0 Thursday to clinch an American League playoff berth; Boston managed just two hits. The Sox have scored a major-league-low 63 runs in September and have one regular-season series left, against the Cubs, with wild-card seeding still at stake.
Ranger Suárez allowed three hits over five innings, including Angel Martínez’s solo homer, and struck out five before Patrick Sandoval relieved him. The article says Suárez is a likely choice for a winner-take-all Game 3 of the Wild Card Series, if one is needed.
The Red Sox lineup has been without Ceddanne Rafaela and Willson Contreras for significant stretches this month, the article notes, as it questions whether Boston can improve its hitting before next week’s postseason.
