The Red Sox have seen their Cinderella story free-fall back to reality with just over a month to go in the 2021 season.
Boston went from leading the AL East by 2.5 games at the end of July to third place in the division after a disastrous sweep at the hands of the rival Yankees this week.
The team sits a half-game out of the second wild-card spot in the American League behind the Oakland Athletics, which is better than many might have hoped for at the start of the season. But their 6-14 stretch over the last 20 games has torpedoed their chances of winning the division barring a collapse by the Tampa Bay Rays.