Game 1: October 1, 10 pm EST - Red Sox (Jon Lester, 16-6, 3.21 ERA) @ Angels (John Lackey, 12-5, 3.75)
Game 2: October 3, 9:30 pm EST - Red Sox (Daisuke Matsuzaka, 18-3, 2.90) @ Angels (Ervin Santana, 16-7, 3.49)
Game 3: October 5, TBD - Angels (Joe Saunders, 17-7, 3.41) @ Red Sox (Josh Beckett, 12-10, 4.03)
Game 4: October 6, TBD - Angels @ Red Sox, pitchers TBD
Game 5: October 8, TBD - Red Sox @ Angels, pitchers TBD
If the regular season is any indication of how this year's ALDS is going to go, the Red Sox should probably just pack their bags and go home. The Angels dominated the Red Sox like no other team was able to, beating them in 8 of their 9 meetings this year. The Red Sox had a losing record against only 3 teams; the Rays (8-10), the Astros (1-2) and the Angels (1-8).
In order to move on in the playoffs, the Red Sox will have to somehow turn the tables on a team that has one of the best pitching rotations in baseball, as well as a solid lineup from top to bottom. The Angels won their division with weeks to spare, so they were able to rest their players accordingly.
Although Jon Lester and Daisuke Matsuzaka have both had a lot of success this year, there's no question that the Red Sox would rather have been able to have Josh Beckett on the mound in game 1. He was their ace during last year's World Series run, and his playoff track record is the best among all pitchers in this year's postseason.
Beckett is currently scheduled to pitch game 3, which means he will likely only pitch once in the series.For the Red Sox, they must count on their experience. This is a team that won it all last year, and should be able to draw from that this year. They faced adversity, being down 3-1 against the Indians in the ALCS, but came back to win, and swept the Rockies. The Red Sox also swept the Angels in the ALDS last year.
This year is different, though. The Angels clearly have the Red Sox' number, and they have destroyed them all year. There really aren't many reasons to believe it won't continue here.
Prediction: It kills me to say it, but Angels in 4.
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