Cleveland Indians: Start Times for ALDS Games 1-3 Announced
Major League Baseball announced the start times for the first round of playoff games on Monday afternoon, and the Cleveland Indians better be ready for primetime.
The moment that just about every fan of the Cleveland Indians and, surely, the fine people who run its social media accounts, had been waiting for came on Monday afternoon, as Major League Baseball announced the starting times for the American League Division Series.
Cleveland, who will host the first two games against the Boston Red Sox at Progressive Field, will be the primetime game on Thursday night. First pitch is slated for 8:08 p.m. ET, and the game will be broadcast nationally on TBS.
2016 Postseason start times announced through Sunday, October 9th: pic.twitter.com/wRRm0C7gpw
— MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) October 3, 2016
The Indians will send Trevor Bauer to the mound in game one to take on Boston’s Rick Porcello. Bauer has been elevated into the first game role on account of injuries to Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, and Danny Salazar, as well as the ridiculous strength of his arm, which will allow him to pitch on short rest.
Game two from the corner of Carnegie and Ontario will take place on Friday with a 4:38 p.m. ET start. That game, which will feature Kluber and David Price, a pair of former Cy Young award winners, will also be shown on TBS.
The series will shift to Fenway Park for game three on Sunday, and again the Indians and Red Sox will have a mid-afternoon start time. The game is scheduled to get going at 4:08 p.m. ET, and will again be televised by TBS. Josh Tomlin is the Tribe’s probable pitcher for that one, while the BoSox have yet to name a starter between Clay Buchholz and Eduardo Rodriguez.
Start times for games four and five were not announced, as they will be played only if necessary. Game four would be played in Boston, and a deciding game five would move back to Cleveland. Should things get that far, the Indians are expected to toss Bauer and Kluber, respectively, for the second time in the series.
Given that this is the first division title the Tribe has won since 2007, and the first playoff game to be played at Progressive Field since 2013’s AL Wild Card, the atmosphere in downtown Cleveland on Thursday should be electric. For the sake of Indians fans, hopefully the team’s play on the field will be the same.
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