The Boston Red Sox’s reunion with Terry Francona and the Cleveland Indians officially is on.
The Texas Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-1 on Friday night, in the process clinching the No. 1 overall seed in the American League entering the playoffs.
That means the Red Sox, the AL East champs and currently the No. 2 seed, are guaranteed a best-of-five American League Division Series matchup against the Indians, who sit at No. 3 after clinching the AL Central. The Rangers, meanwhile, will face the winner of the AL Wild Card game in their ALDS series.
Both ALDS matchups are scheduled to begin next Thursday, with times to be determined.
Boston still has home-field advantage to play for, however. Cleveland (92-67) is a half game behind the Red Sox (93-67) in the overall AL standings after both teams won Friday night. The Indians still have three games to play, however (two against the Kansas City Royals and a makeup game Monday against the Detroit Tigers), while Boston has two against the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Red Sox went 4-2 against Cleveland this season and has won three straight vs. the Tribe.
Thumbnail photo via David Richard/USA TODAY Sports Images
