Houston and Boston will face off with the AL pennant at stake
2 min read
The 2021 ALCS between the Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros gets underway on Friday with Game 1 at Houston’s Minute Maid Park.
The Astros secured a spot in their fifth straight ALCS by defeating the White Sox in the ALDS by a count of three games to one. As for the Red Sox, the prevailed over the arch-rival Yankees in the AL Wild Card Game and then upset the top-seed Rays in four games in the ALDS. This marks Boston’s first appearance in the ALCS since 2018, when they won the World Series.
The Astros went 95-67 during the regular season and won the AL West. That gives them home field advantage over the Red Sox, who went 92-70 and finished tied for second in the AL East. As such, the Astros will host Games 1 and 2 and, if necessary, Games 6 and 7. Games 3, 4, and if necessary 5 will be Fenway Park.
Below, you’ll find all you need to know about the ALCS — the dates and times of each game, as well as the probables and the television carriers.
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Game 1 – Fri., Oct. 15 |
8:07 p.m. ET |
LHP Chris Sale (5-1, 3.16 ERA) vs. LHP Framber Valdez (11-6, 3.14 ERA) |
Fox |
|
Game 2 – Sat., Oct. 16 |
4:20 p.m. ET |
RHP Nathan Eovaldi (11-9, 3.75 ERA) vs. RHP Luis Garcia (11-8, 3.30 ERA) |
Fox/FS1 |
|
Game 3 – Mon., Oct 18 |
8:07 p.m. ET |
TBD vs. TBD |
FS1 |
|
Game 4 – Tues., Oct. 19 |
TBD |
TBD vs. TBD |
FS1 |
|
Game 5 – Wed., Oct. 20* |
TBD |
TBD vs. TBD |
FS1 |
|
Game 6 – Fri., Oct. 22* |
TBD |
TBD vs. TBD |
FS1 |
|
Game 7 – Sat., Oct. 23* |
TBD |
TBD vs. TBD |
Fox/FS1 |
*if necessary
During the regular season, the Astros won five of seven head-to-head matchups with the Red Sox and outscored them by a margin of 42-25 in those games.
However, heading into the ALCS health is a concern for the Astros. Ace Lance McCullers Jr. was forced to depart his ALDS Game 4 start because of forearm tightness. Suffice it to say, if McCullers is lost for the series, then it’s a huge blow to Houston. As well, Jake Meyers, who’s stabilized center field for the Astros both offensively and defensively, was forced to leave Game 4 against the White Sox after injuring his left shoulder on an attempted home run robbery.
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