Cleveland Indians: The Impact of Sunday’s ALDS Game Three Postponement

Game Three of the ALDS between the Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox was postponed due to weather. How could this impact the series?

The Cleveland Indians will have to wait another day for their opportunity to sweep the Boston Red Sox in the American League Division Series. Game Three of the series was postponed on Sunday afternoon due to weather, as the remnants of Hurricane Matthew poured buckets down on Fenway Park with no window in which to play baseball.

Game Three will now be played on Monday and Game Four, if necessary, on Tuesday in Boston, with each having a 6:08 p.m. ET start time. Game Five, if needed, would remain on Wednesday in Cleveland.

Erring on the side of caution was the right decision. To start a game only to be unable to finish because of weather would unnecessarily burn both team’s pitching staffs. But the postponement also works to the disadvantage of Cleveland.

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Sundays starting pitchers Josh Tomlin and Clay Buchholz are still expected to be on the mound when Game Three is played on Monday evening, but after that things will now shake out differently.

The Red Sox were expected to start left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez in Game Four against the Indians’ Trevor Bauer, and while Bauer will still get the ball, the postponement allows BoSox manager John Farrell to now bring Game One starter Rick Porcello, a frontrunner for the American League Cy Young award, back on regular rest instead.

This means that if the Tribe is unable to complete the sweep, it will have to face Porcello and potentially David Price, himself a former Cy Young winner, in Game Four and a possible Game Five.

In addition to helping set up the Boston rotation more favorably, pushing Sunday’s game back a day could also affect the way Cleveland’s skipper Terry Francona utilizes his bullpen. If the series goes to five games, the postponement means the day off scheduled in between Game Four at Fenway and Game Five at Progressive Field would be lost.

The lost off day could lead to the Indians’ top bullpen arms Andrew Miller, Cody Allen, and Bryan Shaw pitching three consecutive days, though Francona was not thinking that far ahead on Sunday.

Next: How the Tribe Can Sweep the ALDS

Sunday’s postponement doesn’t change the fact that the Tribe has a commanding lead and a chance to sweep their way into the League Championship Series. But it does impact the series, allowing Boston to alter their starting rotation and putting potential additional stress on the Cleveland bullpen. The Indians are used to dealing with unforeseen adversity this season, though, and remain in excellent position to keep their postseason journey moving forward.