The Boston Red Sox dropped their series finale to the Toronto Blue Jays 6-1 on Wednesday night at the Rogers Centre, but they lost much more than that.
The result also eliminated Boston from postseason contention for the third year in a row, making it the second time that the team has missed the playoffs in three straight seasons in 30 years.
Boston had opportunities to earn a Wild Card spot in the American League, but another second-half collapse will keep them from playing in October.
After the loss, Red Sox manager Alex Cora spoke to the media and gave an honest evaluation of his team with just one series to go in their 2024 campaign.
"Outside of the walls here, nobody expected us to play meaningful games all the way until now," Cora said. "Our goal was to make it to the playoffs. It didn't happen, but it's a good learning experience for those kids over there. Obviously, it's gonna be a different group next year, but for them to think that they were almost there. At one point, it felt like we were a playoff-caliber team, and then we missed the opportunity. Let's put it that way. You look around. You look at the teams that are fighting. We had it right there, and we blew it. We blew it."
On August 6, the Red Sox were 61-52 and in prime position to make the postseason, so for the team to be just one game over .500 and eliminated, Cora's absolutely right about missing an opportunity.
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