White Sox latest disaster vs. Red Sox has fans envisioning nightmare playoff matchup

Not too many teams are beating the Boston Red Sox these days. Heading into fourth of July weekend, the Red Sox sat in last place in the American League East and seemed on the brink of a fire sale. One rumor even claimed they were nearing a deal to send closer Aroldis Chapman to the White Sox before heating up and changing their minds. Instead of a teardown, however, the Red Sox embarked on a 24-3 stretch, thrusting themselves back into the playoff picture and acting as perhaps the most aggressive buyers at Monday’s deadline. The White Sox, who headed into Boston feeling good after winning a road series against the AL-best Tampa Bay Rays, quickly got a wake-up call as they have all year against the Red Sox. 

Following Tuesday’s 14-2 blowout loss, the White Sox dropped to 0-4 against Boston this season, and they’ve been outscored 29-4 in those games. There hasn’t been much going right in the season series against the other Sox so far this year. The starting pitching has struggled mightily and the offense has mustered just three runs against the four left-handed starters Boston has put on the mound. As the White Sox look ahead to the postseason, Boston is a clear opponent I think they should want no part of. The Red Sox are stacked with left-handed pitching, which has been a weakness of the White Sox in recent weeks. Their lineup is relentless and their bullpen has been nearly unhittable over the past month. 

The White Sox and Red Sox could be on a playoff collision course

As it currently stands, the White Sox have a three-game lead in the American League Central. If the season ended today, they’d not only win the division, but would receive a bye to the division series as the number two seed. Despite having a better record, the Red Sox would get the second Wild Card slot and would go to Yankee Stadium for the Wild Card series. In the current setup, the White Sox wouldn’t see Boston until the ALCS, and both teams would have to get through playoff series to even get there, but there’s plenty of time for the standings to change with just under two months remaining of the season. 

As poorly as the White Sox have played at times against teams like the Yankees and Rays this year, those teams scare me far less than the Red Sox. With two more games left in the season series, the White Sox have a chance to salvage a couple wins, and they’ll face a right-handed starter from Boston for the first time on Wednesday. 

With a handful of new players in tow after the trade deadline, the White Sox push for the playoffs did not get off to a good start on Tuesday night. Fortunately, the Guardians and Twins also lost, so no ground was lost. Sean Burke takes the mound Wednesday night looking to help the team bounce back, and he’ll have his work cut out for him. 

With the playoffs on their minds for the first time since 2021, the White Sox need to finish the season strong and go out and win this division. Hopefully, the playoff push doesn’t involve a date with the Boston Red Sox down the line.

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