Terry Francona was taking some heat early last week for resting some starters during the Cleveland Indians’ pursuit of home-field advantage, but it paid off. The Indians will host the Boston Red Sox to open the ALDS on Thursday, with the time of the game yet to be announced.
There was the possibility the Indians would have to play today against the Detroit Tigers, but it was not necessary as the Indians would lose the tiebreaker against the Texas Rangers for overall home-field advantage in the AL playoffs, and the Tigers lost two straight against the Atlanta Braves to fall out of Wild Card contention.