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While the Los Angeles Dodgers seek their first World Series title in 30 years, the Boston Red Sox are looking to cap off one of the most dominant seasons in recent memory. There is a staggering amount of talent on each bench, creating one of the most compelling Fall Classic matchups in quite some time.
Game 1 is scheduled for Tuesday night at 8:09 p.m. ET and will be broadcast nationally on Fox. If you don’t have cable or can’t get to a TV, you can watch a live stream of the game (or DVR it) on your computer, phone or streaming device via one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services:
In addition to a Netflix-like on-demand streaming library, Hulu also offers a bundle of 50-plus live TV channels, including Fox (available live in select markets, which you can find here). You can sign up for “Hulu with Live TV” right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Hulu app.
If you can’t watch live, “Hulu with Live TV” comes with 50 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of DVR space and the ability to fast forward through commercials).
Fox (available live in select markets, which you can find here) is one of 85 channels included in the main Fubo bundle, which is largely tailored towards sports fans. You can sign up for a free 7-day trial right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the FuboTV website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the FuboTV app.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV comes with 30 hours of Cloud DVR (with the ability to upgrade to 500 hours), as well as a “72-Hour Lookback” feature, which allows you to watch the game up to three days after it airs even if you forgot to record it.
Fox (available live in select markets, which you can find here) is included in the “Sling Blue” channel package. You can sign up for a free 7-day trial right here, and you can then watch the game live on your computer via the Sling TV website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Sling TV app.
If you can’t watch live, you can get 50 hours of cloud DVR storage as an additional add-on.
Preview
For as much offensive firepower as there is throughout each lineup, Game 1 is all about the starting pitchers.
The Red Sox will hand the ball to Chris Sale. Even though a late-season shoulder injury limited him to just 158.0 innings on the year, he’s still in the conversation for the Cy Young–that’s how dominant he was during the season’s first four months. Through his first 23 starts of the season, he compiled a silly 1.97 ERA, 0.85 WHIP and 13.5 strikeouts per nine.
If that Sale shows up, the practically unhittable dominant force, the Sox should be feeling very confident about their chances in Game 1.
The problem is, he struggled in September while working back from the injury, and he’s worked just 10.1 innings during this posteason. He was effective against the Yankees in 6.1 innings, but he was uncharacteristically wild in a Game 1 ALCS loss to the Astros, and then he missed his scheduled Game 5 start with a stomach issue.
Still, the Sox believe the extra rest will prove beneficial.
“He was run down,” pitching coach Dana LeVangie said. “These few days were important. Just playing catch three or four days in a row allowed him to get into his arm slot and his delivery a little bit. All those are benefits.”
The Dodgers will counter with their own ace, Clayton Kershaw.
The 30-year-old had his worst regular season in about eight years, which is saying something considering he still finished with a 2.73 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 155 strikeouts in 161.1 innings.
There were some hot takes about him beginning to break down after a shaky month of September, but he has quieted critics in October. In four postseason appearances, including an inning of scoreless relief against the Brewers in Game 7 of the NLCS, he has a 2.37 ERA, 0.79 WHIP and 16 strikeouts in 19 innings. He had a bad outing against the Brewers in a Game 1 loss, but he has otherwise been thoroughly dominant during the playoffs.
Both of these teams are just dripping with talent. There are a lot of different potential heroes and game-winners. But if either Sale or Kershaw are at the top of their games, no one is going to touch them. If both are in form, we could be headed for a Game 1 instant classic.