(Photo credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images)

The visiting Boston Red Sox could double their impact on the American League playoff race Thursday night as they go for a sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays

They could be in a position to clinch a postseason berth with a win in the finale of the three-game series. And they could knock the Blue Jays out of first in the AL East, depending on the result of the game between the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox on Thursday.

The Red Sox (87-71) defeated the Blue Jays (90-68) by a 7-1 margin Wednesday night behind the pitching of Garrett Crochet, who allowed three hits and no runs in eight innings.

The ultimate indignity came when the lumbering Alejandro Kirk was thrown out at first by Wilyer Abreu on a line drive to right field for the final out of the game.

The Yankees moved into a first-place tie in the division with an 8-1 win over the White Sox on Wednesday. The Blue Jays hold the tiebreaker.

The Red Sox occupy the second wild-card spot and are three games behind the Blue Jays in the division.

The Blue Jays have lost six of seven and a five-game lead on Sept. 16 is gone, scoring a total of five runs in those six losses. They were no match for Crochet, who is 18-5 with a 2.59 ERA and 255 strikeouts over 205 1/3 innings.

'That's the reason he's here. We needed an ace, we got an ace, we extended (his contract) and every five days it feels like it's win day,' Boston manager Alex Cora said.

The Blue Jays are showing signs of frustration. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was ejected after protesting a called third strike against him in the seventh.

'It feels like the sky is falling right now, and it's not,' Toronto manager John Schneider said. 'We have 90 wins, we're in the playoffs and if the season ended today, we're winning the AL East. I want them to come in and not press. I want them to play confident, play loose.'

Right-hander Brayan Bello (11-8, 3.34 ERA) is Boston's scheduled starter for the finale. He is 3-5 with a 5.36 ERA in 10 career starts against the Blue Jays and is 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA in one start against them this season.

Right-hander Shane Bieber was scheduled to start for Toronto on Thursday, but it was decided to give him an extra day between starts. He now is scheduled to start Friday against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Right-handed reliever Louis Varland (4-3, 3.10) is expected to serve as the opener on Thursday. He is 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA in five relief appearances against Boston. Left-hander Eric Lauer (9-2, 3.32) could be featured on Thursday after Varland. He is 1-0 with a 4.05 ERA in three career games (two starts) against Boston.

Toronto's Anthony Santander returned Wednesday from a shoulder injury that had sidelined him since late May, going 0-for-3 with two strikeouts as DH.

The Red Sox are 4-1 on their road trip that has put them on the cusp of making the postseason for the first time since 2021.

'It feels great,' Cora said. 'But we still have to finish it. We have put ourselves in a great position so far, we still have games to play, we've just got to take it day by day.'

--Field Level Media