Boston Red Sox Vs. Cleveland Indians Game 1 Live Stream: AL Division Series, Start Time, Pitching Matchup, Preview


The Boston Red Sox and the Cleveland Indians face off in the Major League Baseball postseason for the fifth time as Game One of their American League Division Series will live stream on Thursday as the Red Sox begin their quest for their fourth World Series title in 13 years — while the Indians will be looking for their first since 1948.

The Red Sox and Indians first met in a playoff series in 1995, the first full season of the three-divisions per league, Wild Card format. The Indians swept that ALDS series 3-0 from Boston, and then won by a 3-1 tally when the two franchises met in a second ALDS in 1998.

But in 1999 the Red Sox turned the tables, coming back from a 2-0 deficit to win three games in a row and send the Indians packing. The Red Sox staged another comeback in the 2007 AL Championship Series, falling behind 3-1 before reeling off three straight wins to get to the World Series, where Boston defeated the Colorado Rockies.

Red Sox Game One starter Rick Porcello [Image by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images]

The 2016 meeting carries an extra layer of intrigue, however, with the Indians managed by Terry “Tito” Francona — who managed the Red Sox to their first two World Series titles in 86 years, in 2004 and 2007, before parting with the Red Sox under a cloud of controversy after the 2011 season.

The Red Sox won another World Series in 2013 under new and current manager John Farrell, who served as Francona’s pitching coach for the World Series-winning 2007 Red Sox season.

Watch a preview of the Boston vs. Cleveland ALDS series from the ESPN Baseball Tonight panel, in the video below.

To find out how to watch a free and legal live stream of the Boston Red Sox vs. Cleveland Indians ALDS Game One, see the streaming links at the bottom of this article. First pitch is scheduled for 8 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, 5 p.m. Pacific, at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio, on Thursday, October 6.

The pitching matchup for Game One pits the Red Sox ace, 22 game-winner Rick Porcello, 27, against a fill-in starter for the Indians, 25-year-old fifth-year righthander Trevor Bauer.

Francona elected to go with Bauer in Game One to give his staff ace, Corey Kluber, an extra day of rest. But the Red Sox go with their best in Porcello who turned in a career year in 2016, recording only four losses in his second year with the Red Sox after coming over in a trade with the Detroit Tigers.

Cleveland Game One starter Trevor Bauer [Image by David Maxwell/Getty Images]

The sinkerballer in his eighth big league season recorded a personal-best 3.15 ERA over 223 innings, the most he has pitched in his career. His strikeout-to-walk ration of 5.91 led the American league, as did his 22 wins.

Bauer, on the other hand, will be making his first postseason start — Porcello will make his third — after a mediocre season of 12 wins against eight losses and a 4.26 ERA.

In his only start against the Red Sox this season, Bauer was shelled for four runs and eight hits in five innings by Boston’s offense, which was baseball’s best, averaging 5.4 runs per game.


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To watch a live stream as the Boston Red Sox take on the Cleveland Indians in Game One of the second American League Division series, use the streaming link provided by WatchTBS at this link, or download the WatchTBS app to watch the game on most mobile devices. Login credentials from a cable or satellite TV provider will be required to watch the playoff game via WatchTBS.

Fans who do not have login credentials, however, can still watch a live stream of the Red Sox vs. Indians ALDS Game One legally and for free. The best way to do that is to access the Sling TV internet TV package at this link. The package features a variety of channels including TBS, and costs a subscription fee of $20 per month. But Sling TV offers a seven-day free trial. That means subscribers can choose whether or not to keep the service after they watch the Boston vs. Cleveland playoff series, even if the series goes the full five games, which would mean the series would end on Wednesday, October 12.

The Sony PlayStation Vue online TV service also comes with a free trial offer, and carries TBS. Access the PlayStation Vue plan at this link.

Fans outside of the United States and Canada can subscribe to MLB.tv Postseason for a US$24.99 fee to view live streams of all postseason games through the end of the World Series by visiting this link.

A free, live audio stream of the Boston Red Sox vs. Cleveland Indians game is available from ESPN Radio online at this link, or by downloading the ESPN Radio app for mobile devices.

[Featured Image By Adam Glanzman/Getty Images]

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