Boston Fans Have No Reason to Give Up on Playoff Chances With Rest of August Schedule

The 2018 World Series champions had high expectations entering the 2019 season.

While the first four months of the campaign have been pretty mediocre for the Boston Red Sox (they're four games over .500 and 14.5 games out of first place in the AL East), there's still hope for the team's playoff chances, if you choose to believe.

The Sox have now lost eight straight games after being swept in a four game-series by the New York Yankees over the weekend. Maybe the division deficit is too much to overcome, but a weak August schedule keeps Boston's Wild Card chances alive.

Time of death: 11:32 p.m.

The Red Sox lose, 7-4. They were swept in the Bronx and have lost eight in a row.https://t.co/wVF4DIE9Zv
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) August 5, 2019

This month, Boston will play only five games against teams currently above .500 (the Cleveland Indians and Philadelphia Phillies). Even the Phillies are so up and down that there is a good chance they dip below .500 in August.

Boston's big bats, including Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers, and JD Martinez will have a chance to feast off of pitching staffs that are among the worst in baseball, including men who possess these sterling numbers and will be facing off against the Sox at Fenway this week.

Here are the Red Sox opposing pitchers this coming week:

6.34 ERA, 5.03 ERA, 5.58 ERA, an opener, someone filling in for a guy that just tore his ACL, 6.28 ERA, 5.66 ERA
— Red Sox Stats (@redsoxstats) August 5, 2019

You simply cannot lose to any one of those people, despite a bizarrely lackluster campaign at home this year (27-29).

While the New York Mets have won nine of 10 and climbed into the NL Wild Card picture thanks to a robust starting rotation, Boston can lean on its bats and go on a roll.

That being said, the Red Sox are a team with two former Cy Young winners and Chris Sale in the rotation. Though David Price leads the trio with a 4.36 ERA, there is reason to hope and believe that Sale, Price and Rick Porcello can get their seasons on track (to some degree, at least) in August.

Only the Oakland Athletics, Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Indians are ahead of the Red Sox in the Wild Card (not including the three division leaders). Oakland and Tampa are young, unproven teams, and while overreacting to a bad stretch is so easy, it's also unnecessary.

Boston hoped to get back into the division race with a major stand during a stretch of 14 consecutive games against the teams ahead of them in the AL East. Instead, they finished just 5-9 after opening the slate 5-1.

There is no reason, however, to believe the Red Sox can't hit their way back into the playoff race in some form, especially with the week ahead of them.