There’s No Place Like Home (Field Advantage)
Clinching a playoff spot on 9/19 was great.
Clinching the division title on 9/20 was awesome.
Clinching homefield advantage throughout the playoffs would be fantastic!
Sep 21, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher
Clay Buchholz(11) covers first base for an out during the fifth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
The Red Sox are only 2 games ahead of the Oakland Athletics for best record in the AL which would secure us home field advantage throughout the playoffs. Neither the Sox nor the A’s play on Thursday so it will be at least Friday before we could clinch. And that would require the Sox to beat the Orioles in Baltimore AND for the A’s to lose to the Mariners in Seattle.
The Sox’s pitching match-ups for the series against Baltimore
1 – Clay Buchholz (1.60 ERA) vs. Scott Feldman (3.51)
2 – Jon Lester (3.67) vs. Wei-Yin Chen (4.03)
3 – John Lackey (3.52) vs. Chris Tillman (3.62)
From an ERA perspective this seems favorable for the Sox, but we know that anything can happen. Buchholz hasn’t looked as dominant as his ERA would suggest and we all know that Baltimore seems to bring its A game against the Sox.
The A’s pitching match-ups for the series in Seattle
1 – Bartolo Colon (2.64) vs. Felix Hernandez (2.99)
2 – Jarrod Parker (3.74) vs. Brandon Maurer (6.48)
3 – Sonny Gray (2.90) vs. James Paxton (1.50)
There doesn’t seem to be a strong case for either team in game 1 or 3. Not that starting pitcher ERA is the be-all-end-all to a baseball game, but it’s a big part of trying to guess an outcome.
If King Felix can beat the A’s on Friday night and Clay can top the O’s, Sox fans everywhere would rejoice!