The Red Sox clubhouse is enjoying a champagne-soaked night. Boston locked up their playoff spot in dramatic fashion on Friday night, beating the Tigers 4-3 at Fenway. With the score tied in the bottom of the ninth and a runner on first, Ceddanne Rafaela ripped a walk-off triple to seal the win and punch their ticket to the postseason for the first time since 2021.

The celebration quickly moved to the clubhouse, where champagne bottles and goggles were ready to vibe along. But before the corks popped, manager Alex Cora sent a fiery message, reminding everyone that this was just the beginning. And Cora made it clear, his squad isn’t satisfied with just getting in. A bigger objective awaits!

“I want to thank you for the effort, I want to thank you for everything that you guys have done. But, you guys know, we didn’t come here to play only 162. We came here to win the World Series.” Cora meant serious business in October.

Their playoff-spot win caps off a huge turnaround season for the Red Sox, who finally broke out of the worst slump the franchise has seen in decades.

Heading into 2025, Boston had missed the playoffs three straight years and finished at or below .500 each time. But this time, led on a wave of top prospects — Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, Kristian Campbell, Payton Tolle, and Connelly Early, added up to a team that ranks 5th in ERA (3.72), 5th in runs (777), and 4th in BA (.254).

The good time for the Red Sox continues as Roman Anthony just shared an update about his return from left oblique strain injury.

“I’m doing everything I can to get back out there and hopefully play as soon as I can. I’m so happy for every single person on this work, we earned it.” Cora might be getting back his prized possession with a .292 BA and 8 HRs soon. No wonder there was confidence in his voice.

However, it all depends on which team will face the Red Sox in the postseason.

The postseason business starts for the Red Sox

Clinching the postseason berth is just the first checkbox. Now, as Cora said, the team will go for the ring, but it all depends on which teams they will face along the way.

Sitting with an 88-72 record now, the Red Sox probably aren’t catching the division at this point. Because both the Yankees and Blue Jays are sitting four games ahead. That also means we can pretty much rule out the Astros as a Wild Card opponent, and the Mariners look safe with their three-game cushion for a bye.

So here’s the picture.

If Boston wins one of its last two games, or if Cleveland drops one, the Red Sox lock in as the second Wild Card, the No. 5 seed. And that would set up a matchup with the No. 4 seed. And this could be either the Yankees or the Blue Jays. So, we will be in for a classic AL East rivalry!

If it’s the Yankees, Boston might be confident about it. After all, the Red Sox took 9 of 13 from them this year. But if it’s the Blue Jays, things get trickier. Toronto won 8 of 13 in the season series, giving them the upper hand. Of course, October is a whole different animal than the regular season, but you can bet Boston would rather draw the team they’ve owned all year.