The Boston Red Sox haven’t closed out the 2017 season yet, but there already are some interesting matchups to look forward to in 2018.
Major League Baseball released next season’s schedules Tuesday, and the Red Sox open their campaign with a four-game series against the Rays in Tampa Bay on Thursday, March 29. Boston’s home opener at Fenway Park is against the Rays, too, on Thursday, April 5.
The Red Sox play the National League East for their interleague games. Here’s what the full schedule looks like. You can enlarge it by clicking on the photo.
The Red Sox actually have a pretty favorable schedule when it comes to home and away games, as they’re spread out pretty evenly from month-to-month. In fact, the biggest discrepancy comes in September when they have 15 home games to 11 road games, which obviously bodes well for Boston.
At the same time, that final month could be tough if teams perform more or less at the same level in 2018 as they have in 2017. The Red Sox have a home series against the Houston Astros and back-to-back road series against the Yankees and Cleveland Indians before finishing out the regular season at home against New York. It would make for an exciting finale if the Red Sox and Yankees both are competitive next season, but it also could potentially kill Boston’s playoff hopes.
Their most brutal stretch happens in June when they have a span of 16 games in 17 days that ends in a 10-game road trip. The Red Sox have to fly from Baltimore to Seattle without a travel day right in the middle of that span.
Boston’s annual Patriots’ Day game, which is played at 11:05 a.m. ET every year, is against the Baltimore Orioles, and the team will be home on Memorial Day, too, taking on the Toronto Blue Jays. The Red Sox also will be in the nation’s capital for the Fourth of July this season, as they have a three-game series with the Washington Nationals from July 2 to July 4.
Game times for the 2018 season and the 2018 spring training schedule will be announced at a later date.
Thumbnail photo via Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports Images
