Boston Red Sox
“I think it’s a Major League schedule and season, and if the games matter, you understand it’s got to be played.”
As a potential nor’easter inches closer and closer to New England, the Boston Red Sox are reshuffling their schedule ahead of their final regular-season series against the Chicago Cubs.
Rather than play out the expected three-game slate against the Cubs at Fenway Park from Friday through Sunday, Boston will try to squeeze in a doubleheader on Friday and get in as many innings as possible before heavy rains and strong winds hit the region.
Sunday’s originally scheduled game will move to Friday at 1:05 p.m. as the first game of the doubleheader, while Friday’s originally scheduled game will move up to 6:05 p.m. that same day.
That would leave one final game between the Red Sox and Cubs. The clubs have Saturday and Sunday to try to fit in Game 162 and close out the season.
Saturday’s game is currently set for 7:15 p.m., but that could move up — or back a day — based on the forecast.
Tickets for the originally scheduled games will be good for admission at the newly scheduled times.
Speaking to reporters ahead of Wednesday’s game against the Guardians, Red Sox manager Chad Tracy also acknowledged that Saturday’s game — or potentially multiple games if Friday’s contests are impacted — could be moved to a neutral site or Wrigley Field.
The Red Sox and Cubs could conceivably play makeup games at Fenway on Monday, but the forecast for that day is still relatively unfavorable — nor would two teams set to play postseason games on Tuesday want to use their off day playing a makeup matchup.
“That’s being talked about, for sure,” Tracy told MassLive’s Sean McAdam on playing those games away from Fenway. “Nothing has been said that that’s what’s going to happen. I don’t think we’ll know the answer for that for another couple of days. So, yeah, logistically, it’s a bit of a thing. But I know there [are] at least conversations around that. I don’t know if it’s going to be a thing.”
The Red Sox still haven’t locked in their playoff seeding, but the odds favor a best-of-three rematch with the Yankees in the Bronx starting on Tuesday.
While Boston doesn’t have all that much at stake over its final five regular-season games, the same can’t be said for the Cubs, who enter Wednesday night tied with the Phillies and Padres with identical 87-70 records in the Wild Card standings.
All three NL teams are in solid playoff position, but how they finish the year will determine who hosts those best-of-three series, decide their matchups, and dictate each team’s path through the playoff bracket.
As such, the Cubs have plenty on the line over this final weekend of the regular season — and a lot of incentive to see through their full 162-game slate.
Ideally, the Red Sox and Cubs wrap up both games on Friday with minimal delays and hold out hope that the weather cooperates enough for Saturday’s game to be played, at least long enough to make the game official.
Delays that would either push Game 162 to Monday or prompt additional travel to a neutral site would be a brutal break for a Red Sox team that has little to play for right now — but faces a tough task ahead with a potential Game 1 showdown with Cam Schlittler and the Yankees set for Tuesday night.
“It’s disruptive in a way,” Tracy told McAdam about moving to a neutral site. “But at the same time, if there’s off days around it, I think you make it work. I think it’s a Major League schedule and season, and if the games matter, you understand it’s got to be played. Let’s see where it lands.”
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