The MLB playoffs are in full swing and the American League division series can finish up on Monday with a 3-0 sweep for the Boston Red Sox if they can win on the road against the Tampa Bay Rays in Tropicana Field at 6:07 pm in a game that will be broadcast on TBS for the ALDS.
The Rays have been playing with their backs against the wall for some time already and now they truly will be up against it, as they could be eliminated from the postseason with a loss on Monday evening. The team has one of its best starters on the mound in Alex Cobb, who went 11-3 this season while putting up an ERA under 2.80 in his first full year in the majors and they will need him to be at his best on Monday night.
The Red Sox have one of their best pitchers on the mound in Clay Buchholz and he already has past experience in Game 3's of series, as he pitched that game against the Angels back in 2009l, but that is all that he has had over that span. Buchholz will need to be at his best on Monday night as well, as the Rays play better at home and he brings his 12-1 record with a 1.74 ERA into the postseason from 2013. Buchholz was going on an amazing streak at 9-0 with an ERA at 1.71 earlier this year, but after getting injured he barely pitched the rest of the way.
Buchholz has looked good on his way to finishing the season and that is one reason why John Farrell has no issues putting him on the mound. The game on Monday could be more of a pitchers matchup than the first two games of the series, as Cobb has been excellent down the stretch, losing just one of six decisions while putting up a sub 2.50 ERA during that span, striking out over twice as many barters as he walked. Cobb has pitched better at home than on the road, putting up a sub 2.30 ERA at Tropicana and the Rays will be hoping for more of the same.
During two games in the postseason so far, the Red Sox have been putting up some very good offensive numbers, with five players already hitting over .375, including David Ortiz. The power hitter has two home runs and 10 total bases already in two games and the team has also been helped by Jacoby Ellsbury, who has scored four times already in two games while hitting over .500 in the series. Boston was one of the most balanced offensive team in the majors this past season and they scored over 850 runs on the season, the best total in baseball.
The Red Sox know that the Tampa Bay Rays have played these types of elimination games before and now that they are travelling to the Trop, the Rays and Evan Longoria will be ready to strike. The Sox finished with the best record in the AL East by a large margin and were 5.5 games better than the Rays and 12 games better than the Yankees and they also had one of the best run differentials in the league, as they allowed nearly 200 less runs than they scored.
The game on Monday night will be Game 3 on TBS and it is scheduled to begin just after 6 pm at Tropicana Field for the Rays and Red Sox American League Division Series.