As we quickly approach the month of September, there is about a month left of the MLB season, with playoff eliminations slowly happening. Or, as what I am referring to it for playoff-contenders: crunch time.

For one red-hot (no pun intended) ball club, the Red Sox their crunch time to lock down a playoff spot in a decently-competitive American League is right now.

Offense 

For one thing, players have been contributing across the board for the club since the near sweep against the Yankees. Roman Anthony being a huge factor for them.

Through the past two series (excluding Thursday’s win), Anthony has 9 hits, three homers, and 7 runs scored with a slash line of .310/.344/.65, with an OPS one point shy of 1. Roman has also shined from the leadoff spot this road trip, hitting two shots from the first spot this week alone.

They have also been receiving help from across the board; David Hamilton clubbed a 364 foot shot that barely squeaked out (thanks for the middle middle sinker, Bradish), and Rob Refsnyder clocked a centre field shot in Thursday’s sweep of the O’s.

Of course, the usual suspects (Jarren Duran, Trevor story, etc.) have all come in clutch this week, with Duran clocking his 13th of the year earlier in the road trip.

Pitching

The Red Sox have gotten DOMINANT starts out of their rotation.

Garrett Crochet, who needs no introduction, has been the clear ace of this team so far. Through 166.1 innings, Crochet is 14-5 with an ERA of 2.38, and an ERA+ of 174. He has one of the three fantastic starts of this series, throwing 11 strikeouts in the 12-1 beatdown of the Yankees.

One of the other fantastic starts came from Brayan Bello, who pitched 7 shutout innings against the Yankees. Lucas Giolito had a fantastic start in the Orioles series as well, striking out 8 in a 5-0 win.

We also can’t talk about Red Sox pitching without also talking about Aroldis Chapman: 3.2 WAR, career low ERA (1.07), 26 saves, a WHIP of 0.673, and an ERA+ of 402.

To make this make sense, this is everything the Sox need. Upper management didn’t really add into this staff at the deadline, so getting great appearances out of everyone now is extremely necessary.

Why Now?

Let’s take a look at who the Sox have ahead of them;

Boston takes on the Pirates and guardians have their next two series. Pittsburgh should be an easy series win ton lose in on the Jays, although Paul Skenes is going to be a tough challenge for the offense.

The Sox then have a struggling Guardians squad, The D-Backs, the rest of the AL East, a sneaky Athletics squad (who have stunned some top opponents this year), and they cap off the regular season with the Blue Jays and Tigers.

Luckily for Boston, the Yankees series should prove to be a similar story to this past series, and there are a number of struggling teams coming up, who Boston could easily grab a series win, or another sweep if they are lucky.

If the Sox want to keep the fans happy, nab a playoff spot/squeak out a division title, and make a run at their fifth ring in 21 years, the time to really utilize their momentum is right now; and they have the team to do so.