It was an ugly and embarrassing weekend for the Boston Red Sox

BOSTON -- The first weekend of August was a golden opportunity for the Red Sox to really solidify their spot in the American League Wild Card race. Instead, Boston fell flat on its face over three embarrassing days at Fenway Park. 

The Red Sox trailed the Blue Jays by just two games when their three-game set at Fenway Park began Friday night. Considering Boston had won all seven previous matchups against Toronto, and considering there were no teams between them in the standings, the Red Sox had a chance to leap into an actual playoff spot with a sweep. That outcome wasn't completely out of the question ahead of Friday's game. Even taking two of three would put Boston just a game back of Toronto. 

Instead, the wheels quickly fell off for the Red Sox. James Paxton had his worst start all season to open the series on Friday night. Boston found itself in a 3-0 hole by the second inning and a 6-2 hole by the sixth. The Sox lost the opener, 7-3.

There would be no bounce-back Saturday afternoon, only more embarrassment on many different levels. Alex Verdugo was late to the ballpark and benched by manager Alex Cora. The Red Sox still had a chance at a comeback win that afternoon, but Reese McGuire had one of the worst baserunning blunders by Boston in a season filled with terrible baserunning blunders to lose the game. Cora was not a happy camper after that defeat, saying it was "probably one of my worst days here in this organization."

Sunday didn't get any better. Going with an "opener" for the second day in a row, the Sox fell behind 4-0 in the third inning and 6-0 by the second. They were never in the game, and stumbled to an embarrassing 13-1 loss and sweep by the Blue Jays.

The Red Sox never held a lead over the Blue Jays at any point over the last three days.

Wild Card lead? Forget that. The Red Sox now trail the Jays by five games for the final AL Wild Card spot, and the Seattle Mariners and New York Yankees are both now ahead of Boston in the race for October. 

"Tough weekend, yeah. Real tough," Cora said after Sunday's loss. "They pitched better than us, played better defense, ran the bases better, and hit."

Remaining postseason relevant just got a whole lot more difficult for Cora and crew, and this past weekend will be the one we all look back on if the wheels ultimately fall off the 2023 Boston Red Sox. For the second straight season, it looks like Boston players are ready to throw up the white flag after the front office did nothing to improve the club at the deadline. 

The Red Sox have lost four of five since the relatively inactive deadline by Chaim Bloom, and seven of their last eight games overall. The hottest team in baseball in July has cooled off considerably on the field, and things are starting to really go sideways in the clubhouse. 

It's not completely over yet. The Red Sox have 51 games left and a fairly soft schedule on the horizon, with their next 10 games against the Royals (36-77), the Tigers (49-62), and the Nationals (49-63). Chris Sale and Trevor Story should be back by this weekend, and Tanner Houck and Garrett Whitlock shouldn't be far behind.

But this past weekend did nothing to instill confidence that this team has what it takes to make a playoff run. It was a costly and embarrassing weekend at Fenway, and it very well could be the weekend that ultimately sinks the 2023 Red Sox season.