SEATTLE — If it were just about talent, the Red Sox would win the American League East. But it may come down to survival of the fittest.

The Red Sox’ schedule is so lopsided with road games from here on out, it’s going to be tough on the players physically and mentally.

One Red Sox player who wished not to be identified because he doesn’t want to be perceived as making excuses said, “Our guys are tired. No excuses, but I’ve never seen a schedule like this before.’’

The Red Sox only have 22 home games left. The Blue Jays and Orioles have much more balanced schedules.

Dave Dombrowski saw the lopsided ending to the schedule when he took the job as the team’s president of baseball operations. He maintains a no-excuses approach.

“I’ve always looked at the schedule as what it is. By the time we get schedules, there’s not much you can do. Years ago, you could swap series and negotiate like that. Now, you can’t. I read where nobody’s had this many road games after the All-Star break in 30 years,’’ Dombrowski said.

“But I’ve often contended that good clubs play good on the road. Sometimes clubs jell on the road and play well. But we’ve had our sports science guys come up with things to help, like the players coming in a little bit later and reducing batting practice and little adjustments like that. You can use more of your players and that’s why our bench has been beefed up a little bit.’’

Dombrowski reasoned that “we have as many road games as they do,’’ referring to the 81 road games that the Blue Jays and Orioles play.

“It’s tough when we get back but we have an offday on Monday,’’ he said. “Next road trip is a little bit tougher because we have a makeup game [in Cleveland] on Monday. The Thursday game we tried to get changed, but they wouldn’t do that for us.’’

Bench coach Torey Lovullo, who has to manage the players’ schedules, says the team has reduced batting practice to save energy and players will have a rotation of days off. Dustin Pedroia had his Wednesday.

“I think the players have adapted to it,’’ Lovullo said. “We’ve had a couple of heartbreaking losses on this trip but the players have done a good job of turning the page.’’

But the odds are stacked against the Red Sox when it comes to making the playoffs. The schedule is interminable. There’s still a third West Coast trip in September to Oakland and San Diego. OK, not the greatest opponents, but it’s still inconvenient so late in the season.

“We did talk about how to prepare for it,’’ said Lovullo. “We knew we had a ton of games on the road. We’re trying to stay ahead of things. So far so good.’’

The worst part is the Red Sox are throwing away games. Hanley Ramirez airmailed a loss in Anaheim when he threw a ball wide of the plate allowing the tying and winning runs to score in a 2-1 loss in a game in which David Price pitched splendidly. The newly acquired Fernando Abad allowed a game-losing three-run home run to the Mariners’ Robinson Cano, a hitter he owned at 1 for 11 for his career.

As Dombrowski pointed out, if you’re a good road team, scheduling shouldn’t matter, but most teams in baseball feel better at home than on the road. Teams are built based on the dimensions of their home parks.

So, with everything stacked against them, can the Red Sox win the division or even make the playoffs?

It all comes down to which of the three teams is better. Did the Red Sox acquire enough talent at the trade deadline to optimize their roster with impact players?

Not sure the top three teams in the division did much to move the needle. The Red Sox may have done the best job, but they didn’t get an impact player.

They acquired Brad Ziegler because they lost Koji Uehara and Craig Kimbrel. Ziegler has been a good addition. Thursday’s starter, Drew Pomeranz, has made three previous starts and the results have been pedestrian. He needs to be better than that. Aaron Hill is a good extra player but not a game-changer. Abad did his deed. Andrew Benintendi had two hits in his first major league start Wednesday, but he was back on the bench to start Thursday as the Red Sox don’t want to overload him.

The Red Sox tried to add an impact hitter at the trade deadline which is why they were targeting Carlos Beltran.

David Ortiz has been in a slump lately, which isn’t good because he’s still the best overall hitter and centerpiece of the Sox lineup. Ramirez slipped down the dugout stairs and hurt his wrist. Dombrowski points out the Sox finally have their full complement in the bullpen (minus Koji, who may not be back). So the bullpen should be the asset, except when Abad gives up a three-run bomb.

The starting rotation has improved, but now it isn’t getting the type of run support it was getting earlier in the season.

Playing without mistakes is the first prerequisite, but how do you manage the schedule?

How do you overcome it?

The Red Sox are hoping not to think about it too much. Their season will be out of a suitcase. It’s really the ultimate challenge for a modern-day professional baseball team. And we’ll soon find out if the Red Sox are up for it.

Nick Cafardo can be reached at cafardo@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @nickcafardo.