The Boston Red Sox getting a much-needed 10-7 win over Toronto on Wednesday was a much-needed relief for the team as they try to win the American League East. But their bigger concern at the moment is getting right fielder Mookie Betts healthy for the playoffs.

Betts whose wrist has been acting up on him gave some positive news after the big win claiming he could be ready for Thursday’s game.

“I’ll come in and it should be OK,” Betts said. “I should be able to go tomorrow.”

With four games remaining it is important to get Betts back in the lineup to keep him in baseball rhythm. Wrists can be a tricky injury and one Red Sox fans are weary of and for a good reason. Second Basemen Dustin Pedroia dealt with a wrist injury for several seasons and didn’t look right till it was fixed.

Betts, however, seems to be a different case with the all-star being available to pinch hit on Wednesday night and play in the field on Thursday. John Farrell declined to use him in a pinch-hitting situation in the 10-7 win but knowing he could have done so is a relief to the organization.

The important thing though is making sure everything is good before rushing him back on the field even with the stakes being high.

“It felt good today. It felt a lot better,” Betts said. “Got some treatment on it and whatnot. Just have to come in and get it back going again.” He added, “I should be OK for tomorrow, but I still want to come in and make sure everything is good before we go back out there.”

Boston will start on Thursday their final series of the year with a four-game set at home against Houston to end the regular season.

Chris Sale may have lost the Cy Young Last Night

Boston has been hearing it all year long: Chris Sale is a shoo-in for the AL Cy Young Award. Well, it now appears that we have all witnessed, what may be, the most massive jinxing in recent Red Sox history. If you’re the type of person who cares about accolades (unlike Sale), it’s not looking very good.

On Tuesday night, against the Toronto Blue Jays, Sale unofficially tossed away his Cy Young bid. The sinewy lefty went just 5 innings, giving up 5 ER’s while allowing 8 hits (4 HR’s) and 2 BB’s. This ugly “Sale Day” start was downright exasperating. That’s because he could have practically materialized a Cy Young Award with a solid outing. Instead, Red Sox fans have been left with a nonplussing shoulder-shrug of a not so grand finale.

Meanwhile, over in Cleveland, Corey Kluber, Sale’s most formidable contender for the AL Cy Young Award, has crossed the finish-line like it was a preemptive victory lap.

Neck and Neck

Chris Sale, the workhorse of this Red Sox pitching staff, has appeared sort of over-encumbered lately. Perhaps the ambitious comparisons to Pedro Martinez have finally gotten to him, or maybe it’s the asphyxiating media presence, or it could just be a “thing”. But in his last 3 starts, Sale has not performed like the ace that Boston could depend on earlier in the year.

He’s not an emotional dude. His “stuff” on the mound is the gateway to this man’s soul.

A 4.45 ERA with a WHIP of 1.26: These are the telling numbers from Sale’s last 3 starts. Going into Tuesday night, He had a collective 2.75 ERA and a .946 WHIP. Considering that he recently became the first AL pitcher since 1999 to record 300 strikeouts, it seemed that a requisite quality-start could almost guarantee him the Cy Young. But after Tuesday’s debacle, Sale has a disproportionate ERA of 2.90 and a .972 WHIP. At best, he will have one more chance to polish the back of his baseball card, before CYA voting begins.

Disclaimer: This by no means represents a “bad” season. It’s just mathematically not as good as the season that Corey Kluber has had.

Contrasting Sale’s sputtering, it has been business as usual for Kluber, through the month of September. He’s gone 3-0 in his last 3 starts. During that stretch, he has not allowed an earned run. Over the course of those 23 innings, Kluber’s WHIP is nearly immaculate at .696. With presumably one more start left before the postseason, his 2017 stats are definitively Cy Young worthy: He has a 2.27 ERA (best in the AL) and his WHIP is .861 (best in the AL). If there are still some doubters out there, Corey Kluber also has a record of 18-4. How could you argue against this guy winning the Cy Young?

The Eye Test

Yes, some vehement Fenway-faithful may still suggest that Chris Sale is the best pitcher in the AL, despite what has been a disappointing finish to his season. And that’s not a totally uneducated contention: He has reminded Boston of what it’s like to have a Pedro-esque bulldog at the front of the rotation.

Sale has had a helluva year - the type of year that we haven’t seen since, well… Pedro in 1999. But Chris Sale doesn’t have to win the Cy Young Award to crystallize his undeniably special talent or his importance to this promising Red Sox team.

Fans should be greatly heartened by Sale’s maiden season in Boston. Remember how guys like Josh Beckett and John Lackey started out here? Chris Sale at 28 years old, is already infinitely better than both of them combined; Beckett and Lackey both went on to win a World Series with the Sox. In fact, Pedro Martinez’s first year in Boston is statistically the most comparable to Sale’s: In 1998, Pedro had a 2.89 ERA with a WHIP of 1.091. And how’d he end up working out for us?

The Boston Red Sox are winners of five straight games in a row. Their last loss came back on the 17th when they lost to the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2. This run that they are on has helped catapult them into a four-game lead over the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East.

New York, clinched a playoff spot on Saturday and acted like they had won the World Series. There was champagne popping in the locker room and photos all over the social spheres. The overreaction of baseball playoff-clinching continues. Boston happened to clinch their playoff spot last week. Did any of you see a clubhouse party? Nope. Me neither.

Boston has started to showcase hidden gems like the resurgence of Eduardo Rodriguez, Rafael Devers, and the return of David Price who has been stellar so far out of the bullpen.

Thier latest winning streak is impressive. But it is also important not to overreact to a good team beating a string of bad teams. Getting hot at the right time matters though.

With 8 games remaining their magic number to win the AL East for the second straight season is sitting at 5 games. New York continues to win ballgames of their own keeping this pennant race one that could go all the way to the end.

One more game in Cincinnati on Sunday, then 7 games to finish off the regular season at Fenway Park. A three-game set against Toronto, and a four-game set against Houston, one of the best teams in the American League to end it.