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Boston took four of their six with the Cleveland Indians in the regular season, with a split of the two games the Red Sox played in Progressive Field where the AL East and Central division winner start their best-of-five ALDS matchup tonight at 8:00 PM EDT with Rick Porcello on the mound against Trevor Bauer in the series opener.
Bauer, who started the season in a relief role, was asked what he would have told someone who said then that he would be the Game 1 starter in the ALDS.
“I'm not sure. I probably wouldn't have said anything,” Bauer said. “I just would have walked away probably, knowing me and my personality.
“I don't know, that's such a hard thing to answer, because it's all in hindsight. My mindset at that point is not anywhere close to where my mindset is at this point. I don't really have an answer for you.”
Bauer finished his fifth major league season (12-8) with a 4.26 ERA, a 3.99 FIP, 70 walks (3.32 BB/9) and 168 Ks (7.96 K/9) in 35 games, 28 starts and 190 IP.
Red Sox’ right-hander Rick Porcello went (22-4) in his second season in Boston, putting up a 3.15 ERA, a 3.40 FIP, 32 walks (1.29 BB/9) and 189 Ks (7.63 K/9) in 223 innings.
Porcello said he was looking forward to making a postseason start for the first time since 2013.
“Definitely very excited for Game 1,” he told reporters.
“Having the three days off and a little bit of that lull there, we're going to be chomping at the bit to get back out there and start playing again.
“As far as the Indians go, it's a good ballclub. They're very well balanced. They have some guys that can run. Definitely have some power threats, some really good left-handed hitting, especially at the top of the order. And you've got to be on your game. You've got to execute pitches. That's a team that they're not going to expend much, they take their walks. They do a lot of little things right. So that poses a lot of challenges.
“For me I've got to be sharp, establishing strike one and go from there.”
Bauer and Porcello face off at 8:00 PM in Cleveland. Here are the lineups for the series opener in Progressive Field...
Bauer vs the Red Sox:
| Red Sox | PA | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | SH | SF | IBB | HBP | GDP | missG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xander Bogaerts | 6 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | .167 | .167 | .167 | .333 | ||||||||||
| Mookie Betts | 5 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | .600 | .600 | 1.600 | 2.200 | |||||||||
| David Ortiz | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | .800 | .800 | 1.800 | 2.600 | |||||||||
| Hanley Ramirez | 5 | 5 | 2 | 2 | .400 | .400 | .400 | .800 | |||||||||||
| Travis Shaw | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | .200 | .200 | .200 | .400 | |||||||||||
| Ryan Hanigan | 4 | 3 | .000 | .250 | .000 | .250 | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Dustin Pedroia | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | .333 | .500 | .333 | .833 | |||||||||||
| Jackie Bradley | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 2.000 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Aaron Hill | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 | |||||||||||
| Bryan Holaday | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | .500 | .667 | .500 | 1.167 | 1 | |||||||||
| Brock Holt | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | .667 | .667 | 1.333 | 2.000 | ||||||||||
| Total | 46 | 41 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 3 | 5 | .390 | .457 | .683 | 1.139 | 1 | 2 |
Porcello vs the Indians:
| Indians | PA | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | SH | SF | IBB | HBP | GDP | missG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlos Santana | 46 | 41 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 10 | .293 | .370 | .561 | .931 | |||||||
| Jason Kipnis | 35 | 31 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 5 | .323 | .400 | .452 | .852 | |||||||
| Coco Crisp | 28 | 26 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | .231 | .259 | .269 | .528 | 1 | |||||||
| Lonnie Chisenhall | 24 | 22 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | .273 | .333 | .455 | .788 | 1 | |||||||
| Mike Napoli | 23 | 22 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 10 | .318 | .348 | .500 | .848 | 1 | |||||||
| Yan Gomes | 14 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 1 | .385 | .385 | .538 | .923 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| Chris Gimenez | 11 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | .182 | .182 | .273 | .455 | 1 | ||||||||
| Rajai Davis | 9 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .375 | .444 | .625 | 1.069 | 1 | ||||||||
| Francisco Lindor | 7 | 7 | 1 | 1 | .143 | .143 | .143 | .286 | |||||||||||
| Abraham Almonte | 6 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | .500 | .500 | 1.000 | 1.500 | |||||||||
| Jose Ramirez | 6 | 6 | 1 | 1 | .167 | .167 | .167 | .333 | |||||||||||
| Michael Martinez | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | .250 | .250 | .500 | .750 | ||||||||||
| Jesus Aguilar | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | .667 | .667 | .667 | 1.333 | |||||||||||
| Roberto Perez | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .333 | .333 | .667 | 1.000 | 1 | |||||||||
| Giovanny Urshela | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | .667 | .667 | .667 | 1.333 | |||||||||||
| Total | 222 | 206 | 62 | 15 | 2 | 5 | 20 | 12 | 43 | .301 | .345 | .466 | .811 | 2 | 2 | 4 |