Boston Red Sox vs Houston Astros: ALCS schedule dates, start times
The complete schedule and starts times for the best-of-seven ALCS between the Boston Red Sox and reigning champion Houston Astros.
The Boston Red Sox face off against the Houston Astros in the American League Championship Series with a trip to the World Series on the line.
These teams met in the ALDS last year, a series won decisively by the Astros on their way to a championship. A new year raises new expectations. The Red Sox upgraded a lineup that was overmatched on this stage last year by adding MVP candidate J.D. Martinez.
Boston will also have home-field advantage in this series after leading the majors with a franchise record 108 wins. The Astros buried the Red Sox in the first two games of their series in Houston last October. Kicking off the ALCS in Boston gives the Red Sox an edge to build early momentum.
Here’s the schedule for this best-of-seven series.
Game 1: Saturday, October 13 at 8:09 p.m. ET in Boston
Game 2: Sunday, October 14 at 7:09 p.m. ET in Boston
Game 3: Tuesday, October 16 at 5:09 p.m. ET in Houston
Game 4: Wednesday, October 17 at 8:39 p.m. ET in Houston
Game 5: Thursday, October 18 at 8:08 p.m. ET in Houston (if necessary)
Game 6: Saturday, October 20 at 5:09 p.m. ET in Boston (if necessary)
Game 7: Sunday, October 21 at 7:39 p.m. ET in Boston (if necessary)
Each game of the ALCS will be broadcast on TBS.
Most of the games will be in primetime but there is one exception that could trouble those of us who work the classic Monday-Friday, 9-5 schedule. That would be Game 3, scheduled to begin when many of us will be stuck in rush hour traffic. Perhaps you’ll feel a cough coming on that morning that may force you to leave work early.
The National League Championship Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers begins Friday night, limiting the number of weekdays that the two series overlap. The NL series gets the primetime spot on Tuesday, while the AL gets that slot on Wednesday. Monday and Friday are off days for the ALCS while the NLCS has a travel break on Thursday. There is more overlap on the weekends but many of us have more flexibility in our own schedules those days.
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Apologies to those of you who work nights and weekends but if you fall into that category you probably already knew you’d be missing out on most of the postseason action.
We know Chris Sale will start Game 1 at Fenway, opposed by Astros ace Justin Verlander. The Red Sox will give David Price another chance in the rotation in Game 2 against Gerrit Cole. While there are reasons to believe Price will be better than he was against the Yankees, his postseason track record makes it difficult to trust that he’ll outduel a potential Cy Young candidate. That puts greater pressure on Sale to deliver in Game 1. Boston can’t afford to fall into a 0-2 hold before heading to Houston.
5 Red Sox players who need to step up in the ALCS. dark. Next
Don’t forget to follow @BoSoxInjection on Twitter for live in-game reactions, analysis, and opinions during these games!