Boston Red Sox vs. Cleveland Indians ALDS: What You Need to Know

All eyes coming down the stretch were on the retiring David Ortiz. Now the focus shifts to sending him off with a fourth World Series.

The Red Sox and Indians continue their American League Division Series today, with the winner moving on to face either Texas or Toronto in the American League Championship Series.

Boston lost Game 1, 5-4, Thursday evening.

Today's first pitch is scheduled for 4:38 p.m. at Progressive Field in Cleveland. For the rest of the series schedule, click here. All games will be broadcast on TBS and WEEI.

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Here's a look at the series between the American League East and American League Central winners:

Game 2 pitching matchup

David Price is going to try to finish the season much stronger than he started it. Boston's 31-year-old lefthander had a rough first half but evened out to go 17-9 with a 3.99 ERA in a league-leading 35 starts and 230 innings. He also allowed the most hits in the league - 227. Price has dominated the Tribe in his career, going 10-2 with a 2.24 ERA and 100 strikeouts in 92 1/3 innings. But it's his postseason struggles that are cause for concern: Price is 2-7 with a 5.12 ERA in the playoffs.

The Indians will counter with former Cy Young Award winner and strikeout machine Corey Kluber. The 25-year-old righthander is nursing a sore quad but was 18-9 with a 3.14 and 227 strikeouts this season. Kluber is 2-3 with a 4.78 ERA against Boston in his career. He'll be making his postseason debut.

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The pitching matchups going forward figure to Clay Buchholz vs. Josh Tomlin in Game 3. A potential Game 4 would feature Eduardo Rodriguez vs. who would likely be Bauer again, and a deciding Game 5 would be either Price or Porcello vs. Kluber.

Looking back

The last time Cleveland won a World Series championship in 1948, it doubled up on dumping Boston teams. First the Indians knocked the Red Sox out with a victory in the American League's first one-game playoff. The Tribe then beat the Boston Braves for the title.

The Indians had the Red Sox down, 3 games to 1, in the 2007 ALCS, but Boston recovered to win the series and eventually another World Series championship.

Boston also rallied back from a 2-0 ALDS series deficit to Cleveland in 1999, in what was one of Pedro Martinez's most memorable performances.

Notes

• The Red Sox are going up against old pals in manager Terry Francona and first baseman Mike Napoli. Francona managed Boston to World Series titles in 2004 and 2007 and Napoli helped slug them to another championship in 2013. Also: Former Red Sox reliever Andrew Miller is now the closer for the Tribe; former Sox outfielders Coco Crisp and Michael Martinez are on Cleveland's roster.
• Napoli has had one of the best seasons of his career, slugging a career-high 34 homers and 101 RBIs. But he also set an Indians record with 194 strikeouts and has slumped mightily since Sept. 1.
• Injuries to starting pitchers Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar are forcing Tomlin and Bauer into prominent roles.
• The Indians added Yan Gomes to their playoff roster, a talented catcher who has just two at-bats since injuring his shoulder in mid-July. With his health a question, Cleveland is carrying three catchers instead of two.