CINCINNATI -- Earlier this season, Red Sox manager John Farrell had the thrill of flying to Kansas City and sitting in the stands at Kauffman Stadium as his son, Luke, made his Major League debut.
This weekend, John Farrell will be in the unique position of competing against Luke's team, the Cincinnati Reds. After spending stints in the Royals and Dodgers organizations this season, Luke Farrell is a September call-up for the Reds and could get some action out of the bullpen in this three-game series.
• Dress for October: Shop for official Red Sox postseason gear
"I don't know how many times this has happened in the history of baseball, but for myself, for my dad, for my family, this is a pretty cool experience," Luke Farrell said. "It's something I'm going to enjoy for sure."
The last time a father managed against his son was in 2004, when Felipe Alou's Giants played against Moises Alou and the Cubs.

"It's definitely unique," said Farrell. "On a lesser scale with his older brother Jeremy in Spring Training when he was with the Pirates, it happened, but that was Spring Training. There was an added adrenaline rush then -- there's a set of nerves that kind of kick in and I'm sure that will probably be the case if he comes to the mound in one of these three games."
The potential matchup between father and son comes at a time the Red Sox are trying to get closer to winning the American League East.

"Again, he's my son, but he's in the other uniform," Farrell said. "I don't mean to sound crass or ultra-competitive, but that's where we are. This is an important series for us. We don't take them lightly. We've got business to attend to."
With the Red Sox enjoying an off-day in Cincinnati on Thursday, John and Luke got to spend some time together before the Reds played the Cardinals.
"It's a unique opportunity to catch up in person when schedules can be taking you everywhere, but I'm proud of what he's earned," John Farrell said. "It's been an interesting year for him in terms of three different organizations, waiver claims and what not, but we'll see how this series unfolds. Hopefully it's just a side story to a successful series for us."
Being John Farrell's son gave Luke unique glimpses at life in the Majors before he got there. Some of Luke's most influential baseball memories are from when John served as Boston's pitching coach from 2007-10.

"I was fortunate to kind of grow up in a clubhouse and be around a lot guys who showed me how to be a professional even when I was 14 or 15 years old, because I was just sitting there quiet and trying to watch," Luke Farrell said. "So many memories from Fenway Park, especially -- just kind of tagging along as a kid -- that I've tried to implement in my career.
"When I was in high school, they had Josh Beckett and Curt Schilling and Jonathan Lester and Clay Buchholz. I would just watch their bullpen [sessions] or watch the way they work, pick up different grips. There's grips I still use to this day that I watched those guys use in their bullpen [sessions] and in a game. Really fortunate to be able to do that as a kid."
Though John and Luke barely see each other during the season, the communication never stops.
"We have an ongoing conversation almost daily through text or phone call, but to be able to just sit in person and catch up, it would be like any other parent who's hasn't been around their son or daughter for a lot of time," said John Farrell.
There will be a chance for quality time in the offseason.
"For sure," Luke Farrell said. "Usually it revolves around some kind of fishing trip or something like that on the Cape."