The Boston Red Sox put together one of the most memoriable turn-around campaigns in recent memory this season and due to their extremely consistent play, the Sox were rewarded with home field advantage throughout the 2013 Major League Baseball Playoffs. Finishing the 2012 season with 93 losses, Boston and first-year manager John Farrell were able to use veteran leadership along with the skills of rising talent to once again claim the top spot in the uber-competitive American League East division. Wrapping up the year with 96 wins, an AL East title and the best record in the American League, Beantown is now ready to go for Game 1 of the American League Division Series where the Red Sox will host East rival Tampa Bay.
Like the Red Sox, Tampa Bay also missed the 2012 postseason even after winning 90 games and finishing third in the American League East. Led by a tremendous pitching staff and timely offense - mostly from All-Star third baseman Evan Longoria -- the Rays and manager Joe Maddon are back in the playoffs where they're certainly capable of making a deep run. Already defeating the Texas Rangers in Game 163 of the regular season to advance to the tournament, Tampa then took down the Cleveland Indians in the 2013 American League Wild Card Game, setting up a highly anticipated series with a familiar foe.
"It's quite an accomplishment," Joe Maddon said of his team's recent run to get to this point. "And, moving forward, I want to believe it's going to create some kind of different form of momentum going into this series because we've been playing. We've been playing under duress and we're not tired."
WIth a premier pitching match-up between Boston's Jon Lester (15-8, 3.75 ERA, 177 K) and Tampa's Matt Moore (17-4, 3.29 ERA, 143 K) set to jumpstar the series, Boston manager John Farrell knows his team will need to be on point throughout the series and remain consistent with their routines, just like they were during the regular season. Backing up Lester will also be a top priority in the opener.
"He's been outstanding in the second half," Farrell said of the Game 1 starter. "The last eight starts that he's put together for us, he's been very strong, and he'll lead the way for us. I think it's so important to be consistent. When you establish roles or you establish an expectation, it's making sure that we stay accountable to that. Because if that's our guiding light, we can't stray from it and still expect to get there."
ALDS Game 1 - DATE, TIME & TV INFO
DATE: Friday, October 4
TIME: 3:00pm, ET
TV COVERAGE: TBS
LIVE STREAM: CLICK HERE
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