Game 1 of the World Series is scheduled for Oct. 26
Could the Boston Red Sox earn home-field advantage if they were to advance to the World Series?
There is a chance, but a lot has to go right for Boston.
First off, the Red Sox need to punch their own ticket to the Fall Classic by taking down the Houston Astros. The American League Championship Series kicks off Friday night at Minute Maid Park as Boston looks to repeat its 2018 postseason success against the Astros.
The next step for a potential Red Sox home-field advantage would be the Atlanta Braves earning a spot of their own in the World Series. The Braves are the only National League foe the Red Sox could face that would land Game 1 at Fenway Park, due to the fact that Boston earned a higher win percentage.
Atlanta will face either the juggernaut 107-win San Francisco Giants or slightly less successful 106-win Los Angeles Dodgers when the National League Championship Series begins this weekend.
Although the Braves have the lowest remaining regular-season win total with 88, they actually could earn home-field advantage in the NLCS if they take on the Dodgers because they won their division, while Los Angeles entered the postseason with a Wild Card spot.
Either way, they have a difficult test ahead of them.
All told, none of this discourse matters if the Red Sox don’t advance past the Astros, but it definitely is exciting to think about.