Boston Red Sox: Moments where ALDS Game 1 was lost
By Sean Penney
A closely contested playoff game can often come down to one deciding moment. Here are five where the Boston Red Sox lost Game 1 of the ALDS.
The Boston Red Sox fumbled away home-field advantage in the American League Division Series, forcing them to open the postseason in Cleveland. Not only did this spoil any momentum built by an eleven-game winning streak that clinched the AL East, it also gave an Indians team that plays as well as anyone in their own ballpark an edge.
That advantage has already proven costly, as the Red Sox dropped Game 1. Rick Porcello, our Cy Young hopeful who has pitched brilliantly at Fenway Park this season, reverted back to his 2015 form. Surely the results would have been different had the series started in Boston, but unless manager John Farrell turns to him on short rest for Game 4, we’ll never know.
It seemed entering the contest that the Red Sox had a massive pitching advantage with Porcello on the mound against the struggling Trevor Bauer, yet that’s not how it panned out. Still, we can’t place the blame of a one-run loss solely on the shoulders of the starting pitcher.
Game 1 was lost in a number of different ways. Flip the results of any one of these moments and we may be reveling in the Red Sox stealing home-field in the series.