With a somewhat spotty post-All-Star Break record (4-4), the Red Sox are headed to the
Left Coast for six
crucial games. They enjoy a slim 2.5-game lead on the Tampa Bay Rays and just a 3.5-game bulge on
The Bronx Embalmers. These trips are never easy—but now Boston needs to clean-up against two teams that are effectively out of the post-season running (Seattle is 16 games back of the Astros; the Angels are 17 behind). The Yankees just beat the Mariners in Seattle last night, and the Rays just took two-out-of-three from the A's in Oakland. So, Boston's competitors are getting it done out west—
they need to as well. Going 4-2 would help a
lot in "separating" from the field in the AL East.
