For Red Sox fans, Christmas has certainly come early. The Sox are once again looking to lift the Commissioner's Trophy, taking on the Los Angeles Dodgers, led by manager Dave Roberts. For those of you who remember, Roberts played a pivotal role in the Sox winning their first World Series in 86 years back in 2004. Roberts stole second base and then scored the tying run against the Yankees and future Hall of Fame closer Mariano Rivera, in the bottom of the 9th inning in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series. The Sox went on to win that game and come back from a 3-0 deficit to defeat the Yankees in arguably the best comeback in sports history.
Game 1 will be a pitchers duel, with Chris Sale taking the mound against Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw. This is the type of matchup baseball fans dream about. Sale has had plenty of rest and seems to have recovered from his recent ailment that took him out of starting Game 5 against the Houston Astros in the ALCS. Kershaw has removed all doubts and silenced his naysayers regarding his poor playoff performances in postseason past. It is a lefty versus lefty matchup for the ages and both offenses will have quite the challenge facing these aces.
The Sox outfield, better known as the Triple B's might see some changes with Mookie Betts possibly getting the start at second base when the Sox are away in Los Angeles, due to pitchers having to hit when on National League soil. Sox fans can rejoice in the fact that Mookie will be anchoring right field for the first two games of the series, since the Sox have home field advantage. Betts, Benintendi and Bradley Jr. have been a large part of the reason that the Sox had such success in taking down the previous World Series Champions Astros. Betts made two spectacular plays, robbing the Astros of homeruns that quite possibly could have changed the way the series went. Benintendi made the game saving catch in Game 4, when Alex Bregman roped a line drive with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning. Bradley Jr. has been on a tear at the plate, having 9 RBIs with 2 outs throughout the ALCS. He was given the MVP of the series, a trophy that he deserved after his phenomenal performance.
The bullpen has improved every game since the beginning of the playoffs and Craig Kimbrel hopefully has shaken off the cobwebs, looking somewhat his normal self in the Game 5 clincher. David Price will start Game 2 at Fenway on Wednesday, looking to piggyback off of his clutch start in Game 5, securing the Sox's place in the World Series. Either Rick Porcello or Nathan Eovaldi will start Game 3 in Houston, so the Sox are looking to be in good shape based on the performances of each pitcher in the ALCS.
The Sox are looking to win their first World Series since 2013 and this years team looks stronger and deeper than that of the championship team 5 years ago. This series is going to be a fun one to watch, both teams sport an All-Star lineup, with Cy Young winners and young talent across the board. So let's get ready for some playoff baseball, another trophy to be raised and banner to be hung next year. Go Sox!
The first two games commence at Fenway Park Tuesday 10/23 at 8:09 and Wednesday 10/24 at 8:09 pm, before the Sox head to LA for games 3 and 4 vs. the Dodgers. If you cant make it to Fenway then there is no better place to catch every nail biting minute of the playoff action than Scoreboard alongside some of the best Boston Sports Fans in the region! We will have the games streaming on all of our GIANT- HD TV'S for the ultimate viewing experience. We're also fresh out of a renovation with a proud mural of Fenway embossed across the entire front half of the room and a professionally painted Green Monster Mural in the back of the room, making you feel like your in the ball park itself
We also have in game promotions, prizes and specials for every Sox game, including a basket of wings and a cold Sam Adams Octoberfest for only $11, the best part? You get to take home your very own limited edition Sox pint glass! Oh and you and your friends can automatically enter to win a VIP Sam Adams Brewery Tour too! We also have $3 Bud Light Bottles because we know baseball isn't complete without a cold beer and vise versa. Find the full World Series Playoff schedule below: Yelling at the TV's, Proudly singing Sweet Caroline, chanting for our team and (mild) cursing at the Dodgers is permitted here .. LETS GO RED SOX !!!
Game 1 - Tuesday | 10/23 - 8:09 pm
Game 2- Wednesday | 10/24 - 8:09
Game 3 -Friday | 10/26 - 8:09 pm
Game 4 - Saturday | 10/27 - 8:09
Game 5 - Sunday | 10/28 - 8:15 pm (GAME TBD)
Game 6 - Tuesday | 10/30 - 8:09 pm (GAME TBD)
Game 7 - Wednesday | 10/31 - 8:09 pm (GAME TBD)