Indians-Red Sox ALDS: Start times, how to watch, predictions, things to know

Two teams that qualified for the postseason for the first time in several years are meeting in the American League Division Series this season. The Boston Red Sox, who won the AL East with a 93-69 record this year, will face the AL Central winning Cleveland Indians starting later this week. The Tribe went 94-67 in 2016.

Here is the schedule and broadcast information for the Red Sox vs. Indians best-of-five ALDS matchup. All start times are Eastern Time.

	Date	Time	Venue	Starting Pitchers	TV	Streaming	Radio
Game 1	Thurs., Oct. 6	8:00 p.m.	Progressive Field	Trevor Bauer vs. Rick Porcello	TBS	MLB on TBS	ESPN Radio
Game 2	Fri., Oct. 7	4:30 p.m.	Progressive Field	Corey Kluber vs. David Price	TBS	MLB on TBS	ESPN Radio
Game 3	Sun,, Oct. 9	4:00 p.m.	Fenway Park	TBA	TBS	MLB on TBS	ESPN Radio
Game 4*	Mon., Oct. 10	TBA	Fenway Park	TBA	TBS	MLB on TBS	ESPN Radio
Game 5*	Weds., Oct. 12	TBA	Progressive Field	TBA	TBS	MLB on TBS	ESPN Radio

* if necessary

At various points this season both the Red Sox and Indians looked not only like the best team in the American League, but arguably the best non-Cubs team in all of baseball. The Indians had a franchise record 14-game winning streak back in June while the Red Sox had an 11-game winning streak in September.

Here are some more things to know about this ALDS matchup because two historic franchises.

It's been a while since these teams have been to the playoffs

Both the Red Sox and Indians are returning to the postseason for the first time since 2013. Boston, of course, won the World Series that season. Prior to that, they had not been to the postseason since 2009. This is only their second trip to the playoffs in the last seven seasons.

The Indians, meanwhile, lost to the Rays in the AL Wild Card Game in 2013. That was their first postseason trip since 2007, when they won the AL Central title and lost to the Red Sox in the ALCS. This is Cleveland's second postseason trip in the last nine seasons.

These teams have a postseason history

As I just mentioned, the Indians and Red Sox met in the 2007 ALCS. The Tribe took a 3-1 lead in that series before the BoSox rallied to win in seven games. Josh Beckett was named MVP of the series.

That is not the only time these two clubs have met in the postseason, however. Here's a recap of their head-to-head playoff history:

2007 ALCS: Red Sox win in seven games
1999 ALDS: Red Sox win in five games
1998 ALDS: Indians win in four games
1995 ALDS: Indians sweep in three games

Only two players from that 2007 ALCS will play this series: David Ortiz and Dustin Pedroia. And of course past results have no impact on the present. The Red Sox winning the 2007 ALCS has as much impact on the 2016 ALDS as the Indians winning the 1995 ALDS, which is none.

The Red Sox won the season series ...

As non-division rivals, the Red Sox and Indians played only six games this season, three at each ballpark. In fact, they opened their seasons against each other. The Red Sox were in Cleveland on Opening Day. One of those games was rained out and made up in August, which forced the BoSox to play in four different cities in the span of five days. Here's a portion of their travel schedule:

August 14: Home vs. Diamondbacks
August 15: Makeup game in Cleveland
August 16 & 17: Road series in Baltimore
August 18: Road series in Detroit

The Red Sox won four of those five games -- they lost the series opener to the Tigers -- so the travel didn't hurt them much.

Anyway, the Red Sox won the season series against the Indians four games to two, and they outscored the Tribe 31-18. That said, these two clubs played one game against each other after May, so it's been a while since they've faced each other. They were both very active prior to the trade deadline and will have new faces this series.

... but the Indians have homefield advantage

The Indians have homefield advantage in the ALDS. USATSI

The Indians have homefield advantage in the ALDS because they had the better overall regular season record in 2016. Cleveland only played 161 games this season, remember. Their makeup game against the Tigers didn't have to be played this past Monday because the outcome would not have changed the postseason seeding. Here are the home and road records for the two teams in this series:

Indians at home: 52-28 (.654), +105 run differential
Indians on the road: 41-39 (.513), -4 run differential

Red Sox at home: 47-34 (.580), +97 run differential
Red Sox on the road: 46-35 (.568), +87 run differential

Surprising! At least to me. The Red Sox are so perfectly tailored for Fenway Park that I expected them to have the huge home/road split while the Indians were more balanced. Interesting. Given their record at Progressive Field, I'm sure the Indians are glad to have homefield advantage this series. Being at home in Game 5 could be huge.

These are two great offenses

This season the Red Sox averaged 5.42 runs per game, which was not just the best in baseball, it was the second best by any team since the 2009 Yankees averaged 5.65 runs per game. (The 2015 Blue Jays scored 5.50 runs per game.) Boston led baseball in team batting average (.282), on-base percentage (.348), and slugging percentage (.461). So yes, they were by far the best hitting team in MLB in 2016.

The Indians weren't so shabby at the plate themselves. They averaged 4.83 runs per game during the regular season, second highest in the AL and fourth highest in baseball overall. Cleveland was ranked fifth in batting average (.262), seventh in on-base percentage (.329), and eighth in slugging percentage (.430) among the 30 clubs. They didn't have the Red Sox's offense, but the Indians are mighty good at scoring runs too.

The Indians are missing several key players

Every team is banged up this time of the year, even those in the postseason. The Indians are hurting more than any other AL team at the moment, however. Here is their list of walking wounded:

Michael Brantley: Played only 11 games this year due to shoulder surgery and subsequent complications.
Carlos Carrasco: Out for the postseason after a comebacker broke a bone in his hand in mid September.
Danny Salazar: Currently working his way back from a flexor muscle problem and could be on the ALDS roster as a reliever.

So the Indians are without their best hitter and their Nos. 2 and 3 starters this series. Also, Kluber is coming off a quad injury suffered last week, and catcher Yan Gomes only recently returned from hand and shoulder problems.

The Indians will be without No. 2 starter Carlos Carrasco for the postseason. USATSI

The Red Sox aren't 100 percent either -- Steven Wright, who was their best pitcher in the first half, has been out since August with a shoulder issue -- but their core players are healthy. The Indians are missing at least two important players, possibly three if Salazar isn't cleared to pitch in the ALDS.

The Red Sox struggled at the end of the season

Remember how I mentioned the Red Sox won 11 straight games at one point in September? Well, after that winning streak, they lost five of their final six regular season games, and there were some heartbreakers in there too. To recap:

Sept. 27: Price allows 5+ runs for the fourth time in five starts against the Yankees.
Sept. 28: Mark Teixeira hits a walk-off grand slam.
Sept. 29: CC Sabathia shuts the Red Sox down.
Sept. 30: Ortiz hits a game-winning home run.
Oct. 1: Craig Kimbrel allows the winning run in the late innings.
Oct. 2: Brad Ziegler allows the winning run in the late innings.

Not the best finish to the season! That said, hot and cold streaks at the end of the regular season don't always carry over into the postseason. We see it year after year. Check out Pedroia's reaction to Teixeira's walk-off grand slam:

Pedroia shrug #ALEASTCHAMPS pic.twitter.com/tfQn86OXHn
— Andrew Davison (@AndrewCDavison) September 29, 2016

"Meh, who cares," basically. The Red Sox had already clinched the division and the game was generally meaningless for them. Boston will enjoy the time off before the start the ALDS and show up Thursday with a fresh start, ready to battle.

The Indians have the bullpen advantage

If there is one late season trend that should concern the Red Sox, it's Kimbrel's sudden wildness. He walked the bases loaded prior to Teixeira's grand slam, and in his final three regular season appearances, he walked six of the 13 batters he faced. He'd walked four of the previous 57 batters he faced prior to that. That's not so good.

Even if Kimbrel were at 100 percent, the Indians would still have the bullpen advantage based on their depth. Trade deadline pickup Andrew Miller, who is one of the most dominant pitchers in the game, is used as a "moment of truth" reliever. He's not the closer and he's not the eighth inning guy. Manager Terry Francona uses Miller when he deems the game most on the line, whether it's the sixth or seventh or whatever inning.

Andrew Miller is going to decide a lot of critical at-bats in the ALDS. USATSI

The Indians have that flexibility with Miller because closer Cody Allen and primary setup man Bryan Shaw have been so good themselves. (Shaw started the season slowly but has been terrific for months now.) Knowing those two are available for the late innings gives Francona the ability to use Miller earlier in the game. Expect to see the big lefty on the mound in every big situation this series.

The Red Sox have a fine bullpen themselves, but setup men Koji Uehara and Ziegler aren't as overpowering as Miller and Shaw. They have less margin for error. Also, Boston lacks a shutdown lefty reliever, which will be an issue should Jason Kipnis, Lonnie Chisenhall, or Tyler Naquin come to the plate in the big spot. Whenever Ortiz is up in a key situation, he's going to have to contend with Miller.

This series will be a baserunning clinic

When it comes to raw stolen base totals, the Indians have a big edge over the Red Sox. They were fourth in baseball with 134 total steals. The Red Sox were 13th with 83 stolen bases. There's so much more that goes into baserunning than stealing bases though. Going first-to-third on a single, advancing on wild pitches, scoring from first on a double ... all of that impacts the game too.

According to BsR, the all-encompassing baserunning statistic at FanGraphs, the Indians and Red Sox were two of the six best baserunning teams in baseball this season when you consider everything. Stolen bases, first-to-thirds, all of that. Cleveland generated an extra 17.1 runs with their legs this year, third most in MLB. The Red Sox are sixth at 11.1 extra runs. That's huge. With two closely matched teams like this, getting those extra 90 feet at an opportune time could be the difference in a game and the series.

Expect a lot of Terry Francona talk

The Francona storyline is a juicy one and you're going to hear about it all series. Francona, as you know, managed the Red Sox from 2004-11, and he led the team to World Series titles in 2004 and 2007. He was let go following Boston's late-season collapse in 2011, and after spending a year in the broadcast booth, he took over as manager of the Indians.

The two ALDS managers are very close friends. USATSI

Francona and Red Sox manager John Farrell are very close -- Farrell was Francona's pitching coach in Boston for several years -- so while I'm sure Francona wants to beat his former team, he's not necessarily looking forward to facing a good pal. Here's what he told MLB.com's Jordan Bastian:

"It's tough when you're going to compete against one of your best friends," Francona said. "That's actually kind of hard, but I am so proud of him and happy for him, what he's accomplished. I kind of consider it an honor to actually compete against him."

Farrell, by the way, was the Indians' director of player development from 2001-06, so he has close friends in that organization too. Both managers will be trying to beat their former team this series.

CBSSports.com predictions

What would a preview post be without some predictions? Here's what the five CBSSports.com baseball scribes expect the outcome of this ALDS to be:

	R.J. Anderson	Mike Axisa	Jonah Keri	Dayn Perry	Matt Snyder
ALDS Winner
No. of Games	4	4	4	5	4

Almost unanimous! Only one of us doesn't think the Red Sox will win the best-of-five ALDS in four games. Given our track record with such things, perhaps you should put your money on the Indians.