The recent changes to MLB’s schedule, reducing the number of intra-division games from 76 per season to the current 52, means that how teams match up against rivals matters less than it did only a few years ago.
Still, despite the new math, teams need to beat the clubs in their own division if they hope to become postseason qualifiers, and this past week served as a reminder of how far the Red Sox still have to go in the AL East.
