The Red Sox open the second half of their season with a full day of baseball. Boston hosts the Tampa Bay Rays in a day-night doubleheader Friday at Fenway Park, with Game 1 first pitch set for 1:35 p.m. ET and the nightcap following at 7:10 p.m.
The twin bill is happening because rain wiped out an originally scheduled May 9 matchup between the two AL East rivals, and rather than tack on a separate makeup date, MLB slotted the postponed contest as the front half of a split doubleheader on July 17, according to a Boston 25 News report on the postponement. Tickets purchased for the rained-out game carry over to Game 1.
Griffin Jax, Jake Bennett Get the Ball
Tampa Bay is expected to hand the ball to right-hander Griffin Jax for the opener, with Boston countering with rookie left-hander Jake Bennett, according to SportsGrid’s pitching matchup preview. Boston had not finalized a Game 2 starter as the club came out of the All-Star break.
Both teams enter the day off nine days of rest. The Rays sit atop the American League East. The Red Sox sit 10 games back in that same division, yet somehow are within a half-game of the last AL Wild Card spot.
Boston went 14-2 over its last 16 games, a run that included a nine-game winning streak, according to a midseason report from MLB.com‘s Ian Browne. The Red Sox enter Friday at 46-48, a sharp turnaround from a start so poor that team president Sam Kennedy publicly floated selling at the deadline.
“Let’s be honest, unless things change dramatically, we may have to pivot here from what our initial planning was,” Kennedy said on June 12, before the surge began, as quoted by Browne. Thirteen days later, Boston ripped off its nine-game streak, and the sell talk quieted.
Willson Contreras, an All-Star for Boston this season, framed the turnaround in straightforward terms.
“For us, we need to play baseball and keep getting better,” Contreras said, according to Browne. Center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela echoed the sentiment, saying he trusts the front office to add pieces before the August 3 deadline.
Fenway Park Remains a Problem for Boston
Can the Red Sox carry their momentum from a 9-0 pre-All-Star road trip into Fenway Park? Boston is 29-21 away from Boston, but a miserable 17-27 at home, the widest such split in the majors. Infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa has pointed to the noise of playing in a major market as part of the disparity.
“Playing in Fenway, it’s like a golden ticket,” Kiner-Falefa said, as quoted by Boston Sports Journal‘s Chris Henrique. “To come out here and not play our best, or not to win, it’s frustrating.”
Interim manager Chad Tracy has echoed that sentiment, telling Henrique winning would likely resolve most of the surrounding noise. Boston gets not one but two games to immediately test that theory Friday, with a chance to build on its surge in front of the home crowd that has given it the most trouble.
Both games air on NESN, with MLB.TV available for viewers outside the regional footprint. WEEI 93.7 FM carries the English radio broadcast, with Spanish-language coverage on WCCM 1490 AM.
Red Sox’s First Games After All-Star Break: Doubleheader Times, Opponent