Red Sox clinch postseason berth while Brett Anderson tears a hat

For the second consecutive season, the Boston Red Sox have clinched a postseason berth. With the Cleveland Indians beating the Los Angeles Angels 6-5 Wednesday night, the Red Sox were guaranteed at least a wildcard spot after they defeated the Baltimore Orioles 9-0.

The Red Sox, currently three games up on the New York Yankees, have a magic number of eight to clinch the AL East.

2016 and 2017 is the first time Boston has reached the postseason in back-to-back seasons since 2008-2009, and the Red Sox have never won the AL East in consecutive seasons.

The Toronto Blue Jays lost 15-5 last night, and at one point, the score was 13-0. Brett Anderson gave up eight earned runs in just 1.1 innings. It was his first start since leaving early with a developing blister on his left hand, and he wasn’t afraid to show his disappointment.

Kind of horrifying, but also really impressive.

“I think there’s parts of [the hat] left in the dugout if you guys want some souvenirs,” Anderson told the media after the game.

Carlos Ramirez also gave up his first earned runs of the season after pitching 47.2 scoreless innings.

One can only hope today’s game goes better. J.A. Happ is starting for the Blue Jays, on the mound against Jason Vargas for the final game of Toronto’s three-game set against the Kansas City Royals. In his last start on September 15th, Happ gave up three earned runs with one walk and five strikeouts in 6.1 innings.

Following a late-night tweet from Jon Morosi that indicated the Blue Jays and Marco Estrada were close to an extension, Toronto finalized and announced the deal on Wednesday afternoon. The extension, for one year and $13 million, keeps Estrada from becoming a free agent until the end of the 2018 season.

“I knew what I wanted and I knew I wanted to come back,” Estrada said in a press conference prior to Wednesday’s game. “I think we’re going to have a really good team. I want to be here for the ride.”

Estrada also mentioned that the on-field troubles he dealt with in the summer months of this season stemmed from personal issues that had “nothing to do with baseball,” Ben Nicholson-Smith reports. The issues have since been solved.

“If this team does make the playoffs and I wasn’t part of it, I would’ve been really upset,” Estrada continued. “I knew in my heart I wanted to come back.”

Former Blue Jay Raul Mondesi was sentenced to eight years in prison yesterday for corruption as mayor of his hometown, San Cristobal, in the Dominican Republic. Mondesi, who played for the Blue Jays from 2000 to 2002, served as the mayor in his town for seven years prior to being convicted.

Mondesi was also fined 60 million pesos.