The Boston Red Sox are one of the most frustrating teams in Major League Baseball across the last few years, and again this year they are leaving their fans tearing their hair out. Here we look at their prospects of making the 2022 playoff and give you our overall verdict.
The Red Sox may have won the World Series four times in the last 18 seasons, but that doesn’t stop Red Sox fans from feeling they are always short-changed. Four wins in the Falls Classic in that period is impressive enough, but only once in the past three seasons has the Red Sox made it to the postseason.
In 2019 and 2020, they failed to progress. But they did make it last year, eventually losing to the Houston Astros in 6 games in the American League Championship Series.
The disappointment of missing out in 2019 and 2020 was immense though. The Red Sox won the World Series in 2018 and lost in the divisional series in the two years before that. So failing to make the postseason in 19 and 20, must have been a serious kick in the teeth for the Fenway Park locals.
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Will hit and miss Red Sox make the 2022 Playoffs?
This season they’ve been hit and miss in the AL East. Currently, they sit a distant second behind the New York Yankees, having just got their noses in front of the Toronto Blue Jays. So with a place in the postseason far from secure, the best MLB betting sites makes the Red Sox -325 to qualify for the playoffs, and +250 to miss out on progressing as they did in 2019 and 2020.
With such an illustrious history, it’s easy to see why fans are so frustrated with the performances of their team. To have won the World Series in 2018, and then not even make the postseason the following two years, is what drives supporters crazy. So will the Red Sox qualify this year?
Ahead of their final two home matches of the series with the Tampa Bay Rays, the Red Sox home record reads 21-16. Compare that to the table-topping New York Yankees, who are 34-9, and you can see where the problem lies.
On the road, the Red Sox record reads 24-19, while the Yankees are 24-13. It’s difficult to compare the two records precisely, as the Yankees have played six more home matches, and six matches fewer away from home. But the Red Sox home percentage is .567, while the Yankees are .791.
In fairness, the Yankees are a tough team to compare against. They are, after all, the favorites with the top MLB betting sites to win this year’s World Series.
Can the Blue Jays topple the Red Sox?
Where it is fair to compare the Red Sox, is with the third-place team in the AL East, the Toronto Blue Jays.
BetOnline has the Blue Jays at -800 to make the postseason, and +500 to miss out. So Toronto is more favored to reach the playoffs than the Red Sox. The Blue Jays are also far shorter on the Moneyline to win the World Series. Toronto is +1200, while Boston is +2200 to repeat their triumph of 2018.
The Blue Jays' recent slump in form is what is costing them and allowing Boston to reclaim second place. At the time of writing, Toronto is on a losing streak of four and has lost six of its last ten. If they can arrest that slide, they will have a great chance of reclaiming the second spot in the division. This is because after Boston completes their series against the Rays, they have four games - at Fenway Park - against the New York Yankees.
Scoring Runs is not the problem!
In the hitting zone, Boston has Rafael Devers ranking third at .327. Devers leads the whole of MLB with 104. Both Xander Bogaerts and J.D Martinez have also featured high in the averages this season, and if the Red Sox can find a way to get them firing again, hitting won’t be a problem.
Elsewhere, Boston has conceded well over 300 this season, far more than New York and Houston. They have in recent weeks performed better than Guardians, Rays, and Mariners, and it could be that improved performance that makes a difference.
When you look at the Blue Jays and see 361 runs against them, it must give Red Sox fans some heart as they surrendered over 40 fewer runs this year.
The upcoming four matches against the Yankees will go some way to deciding the fate of the Red Sox this season. If they can come through those relatively unscathed, it could mean a second successive postseason for the boys from Boston. If it goes wrong, and results elsewhere conspire against them, it could be 2019 and 2020 all over again.
I just feel the Red Sox will make it though, and I’m picking Boston to make the playoffs.