The time has come that we’ve been waiting for since the Boston Red Sox took the field in Tokyo, Japan to open up the 2008 season. That’s right, it’s playoff time.
Tonight the Red Sox take on the Los Angeles Angels in the 1st game of their best-of-5 American League Division Series. The Red Sox have swept the Angels in 2 of the past 4 season in the ALDS and have won 9 straight games against the Angels in the postseason dating back to 1986.
Forget about the past, forget about the fact that the Angels won 100 games this year and won 8-of-9 against the Red Sox this season. This series comes down to who ends up with the better pitching. If Josh Beckett is healthy enough to start Game 3 and the Red Sox get solid pitching from Jon Lester tonight and Daisuke Matsuzaka on Friday night, I like the Red Sox chances.
Lester has made 3 postseason appearances for the Red Sox and is 1-0 with a 1.93 ERA. He was the winning pitcher in the closing game of the 2007 World Series in Colorado. Lester made 1 start against the Angels this season and received a no decision, giving up 4 runs in 5 innings of work. Lester has made 4 regular season starts against the Angels and is 1-0 with a 7.78 ERA.
John Lackey starts for Mike Scioscia’s Angels tonight and has made 14 regular season starts against the Red Sox in his career. He is 3-6 with a 5.54 ERA. In 2008, he was 2-0 with a 2.81 ERA in 2 starts against them this season. He has faced the Red Sox in the postseason once and took the loss in Game 1 of the 2007 ALDS when he gave up 4 runs in 6 innings.
Red Sox groundskeeper Dave Mellor watches baseball highlights for the mowing patterns on the field. I do have to admit I did the same thing when I was cutting the field at Yale Field during my New Haven Ravens days.
Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe talks about the starters tonight and the decisions the Red Sox made with their ALDS roster.
Angels skipper Mike Scioscia talks about how injuries affect both teams.
Terry Francona talked about the health of Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell and J.D. Drew before the game.
Francona also talked about his reasoning for the way the Red Sox set up their playoff roster.
One of the keys for the Red Sox could be the bat and legs of Jacoby Ellsbury.
Jonathan Papelbon is ready for the playoffs.
The Curly Haired Boyfriend talks about the importance of Game 1, especially for the Angels.
The Maniacal One has some obscure facts about the 2008 Red Sox season.
Gary Marbry of WEEI.com has some more postseason nuggets for us.
Alex Speier of WEEI.com takes a look at teams in the playoffs that have won 100 regular season games.
Lineups and batter/pitcher matchups after the jump
0-0
1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. David Ortiz, DH
4. Kevin Youkilis, 1B
5. J.D. Drew, RF
6. Jason Bay, LF
7. Mike Lowell, 3B
8. Jed Lowrie, SS
9. Jason Varitek, C
– Jon Lester, SP
0-0
1. Chone Figgins, 3B
2. Garret Anderson, LF
3. Mark Teixeira, 1B
4. Vladimir Guerrero, DH
5. Torii Hunter, CF
6. Howie Kendrick, 2B
7. Mike Napoli, C
8. Gary Matthews, Jr, RF
9. Erick Aybar, SS
– John Lackey, SP
And here is how the hitters have fared in the regular season in their careers against tonight’s starting pitchers.
