The Red Sox lost their 5th straight game on Tuesday night, but thanks to a Rangers loss to the Angels the Sox also clinched the American League wild card spot. They will square off against the Angels next week in the division series.

Despite the recent losing streak, the Red Sox can thank an otherwise hot September for helping them move well past the Rangers in the wild card race, which turned out a lot less close than most imagined it would be a month ago. Red Sox starting pitching is in shambles right now, but they hope to start the playoffs with a healthy Josh Beckett and John Lester, whose knee is still healing from that hit he took against the Yankees.

Who would have thought in early June that it would be David Ortiz who would guide our way into the playoffs? Ortiz was so wretched at that point in the season it seemed like charity just putting him in the lineup. Since July 6, Ortiz has more home runs than any other player in the American League and is approaching 30 on the season. That’s pretty amazing considering he had approximately 1 home run in the first half. I’d like to know if there are any other players in the history of the game who have had such a contrast between the first and second half of a season while playing full time.

Tags: boston red sox, david ortiz, jon lester, josh beckett, playoffs