After sweeping the San Francisco Giants at home over the weekend, the Boston Red Sox will begin a three-game series in South Florida against the Miami Marlins on Monday night.
While the Red Sox are firmly in the American League playoffs as the second wild-card team, the Marlins are hanging around the third and final National League wild-card spot, 3.5 games back after sweeping the Washington Nationals over the weekend. Before their series final against the Giants, the Red Sox released their probable starters against the Marlins.
Boston Red Sox Release Starters for Miami Marlins Series
This will be the only season series between the two clubs, and there is a pitching matchup advantage that clearly favors Boston.
- Monday: Ranger Suárez (5-3, 3.41 ERA) vs. Sandy Alcantara (13-8, 3.46 ERA), 6:40 p.m.
- Tuesday: Payton Tolle (8-6, 3.08 ERA) vs. TBD, 6:40 p.m.
- Wednesday: Sonny Gray (16-3, 2.79 ERA vs. Ryan Gusto (0-3, 4.37 ERA), 6:40 p.m.
Suárez and Tolle will both be coming into the series off six days rest. Gray will be pitching on his normal five days after gutting through a performance against San Francisco to open the series on Friday night.
Alcantara is the ace of the Miami staff. He was rumored to be traded at the deadline earlier this month. However, president of baseball operations Peter Bendix held onto him. Over the winter, he traded left-hander Ryan Weathers to the New York Yankees and right-hander Edward Cabrera to the Chicago Cubs.
Boston Red Sox Begin Pivotal Trip That Ends Against the Yankees
The Red Sox and Yankees both won on Sunday, which means Boston remains three games back of the first AL wild-card spot. That’s huge because whoever gets that will have the wild-card series in their ballpark. That’s why winning a series over the Marlins is key for the Red Sox. They have their three top starters lined up for the weeknight series.
After the Miami series, a big four-game series over three days gets underway on Friday night in the Bronx. There will be a day/night doubleheader on Saturday to make up for a rained-out game from earlier this season. However, if things hold in terms of the rotation, Patrick Sandoval and Jake Bennett will throw the first two games in New York. Thursday is an off day for Boston, and they could come back with Suárez in one of the Saturday games if necessary.
The four games at Yankee Stadium will be the final four matchups of the 2026 season. Currently, the Red Sox hold a 5-4 advantage, which gives them the tiebreaker should it come into play after the regular season if they end up tied in the standings. That’s a real possibility. There is a big difference between playing the series at Fenway Park or Yankee Stadium, which was the case last season when the Yankees won the series in three games.
Next week, Boston has another off day when making a bold pitching decision is possible. Bennet struggled in the first inning on Sunday against the Giants, allowing two runs before gutting out six innings to complete the sweep.
Boston Red Sox Announce Starting Pitchers for Miami Marlins Series