HOUSTON (AP) — For the second time in four seasons, the Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros are set to play for the American League pennant.
The best-of-seven AL Championship Series opens Friday night in Houston with left-hander Framber Valdez on the mound for the Astros against Chris Sale.
Boston beat Houston 4-1 in the 2018 ALCS on the way to a World Series title, a year after the Astros downed the Red Sox 3-1 in a Division Series en route to their only World Series crown.
Boston manager Alex Cora was the bench coach for that championship Houston club before guiding the Red Sox to their 2018 title. Cora was later let go by Boston and suspended by Major League Baseball through the 2020 postseason for his role in Houston’s illegal 2017 sign-stealing scheme.
All games can be seen live on FOX 11. Get ready for Game 1 with MLB on FOX Pregame at 6:30 p.m., followed by the game at 7 p.m.
A 30-minute edition of FOX 11 News at Nine will air on CW 14. FOX 11 News at Ten will follow the game.
-----
FOX 11 News contributed to this report.