The American League Division Series begins tonight when the Boston Red Sox (93-69) travel to take on the Cleveland Indians (94-67). In his last playoff run of his career, David Ortiz and the Red Sox will be facing a team managed by Terry Francona. Francona managed Red Sox in their 2004 and 2007 championship seasons. Despite winning 15 more games than the season before, Boston still lost home field advantage after dropping five of their final six games, moving them to the No. 3 spot in the AL.
The Red Sox won 15 more games in 2016 (93) than they did in 2015 (78), the largest increase by any team in the majors this season.
— J.P. Long (@SoxNotes) October 3, 2016
The Indians will be hosting their first playoff game in three years and their first division series matchup in nine years. Although the Indians ended their regular season on a three-game win streak, they are coming into the series as underdogs. Since the Indians hired Francona in 2013, they have been a nightmare for opposing teams.
Terry became our manager in '13.
Our 352-294 (.545%) record over the 4-year span ranks best in the AL + 5th in MLB. pic.twitter.com/NvoQIPEiHs
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) October 3, 2016
The Indians may be underdogs coming into the Thursday’s game, but the team knows their talent and is confident they can compete.
Broadcast Details
The Indians host Game 1 at Progressive Field in Cleveland and first pitch is set for 8:08 p.m.
Below are the following game dates.
ALDS first pitch times:
Thursday: 8:08PM (TBS)
Friday: 4:38PM (TBS)
Sunday: 4:08PM (TBS)#RallyTogether pic.twitter.com/2JvuEEMb9b— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) October 3, 2016