This story was excerpted from Ian Browne’s Red Sox Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
MINNEAPOLIS -- Aside from consistent play, the one thing that has been lacking early in the season for the Red Sox is familiar opponents. The Twins and the Astros are the only American League squads Boston faced in the first six series.
In the season’s first homestand, Boston faced the Padres and Brewers. With all due respect to both of those teams, there isn’t enough history to elicit the usual reaction from the Fenway Park crowd.
Fortunately, this won’t be an issue for what should be an electric Fenway crowd when the Tigers come in Friday night for the opener of a seven-game homestand.
Not only does the wraparound series conclude on the same day as the Boston Marathon on Monday, which always boosts civic pride, but it is a prelude to the Yankees coming in for a three-game set that starts Tuesday.
That’s right. The Yankees are coming. That always gets the masses fired up in Boston.
But before getting to that, there will be plenty of juice with the Tigers in town. Detroit is expected to have their two lefty studs on the mound on Saturday and Sunday in Tarik Skubal and Framber Valdez.
Meanwhile, Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet, coming off the worst start of his career, should be pumped up for his chance at redemption when he pitches on Sunday.
Also, the series features two of the most highly-touted young players in the game in Boston’s Roman Anthony and Detroit’s Kevin McGonigle.
Though Anthony didn’t get his call to the Majors until June last season, he made such an impression that he agreed on an eight-year, $130 million extension by August.
So impressive was McGonigle this spring that the Tigers took him on the Opening Day roster. On Wednesday, McGonigle, a shortstop, signed an eight-year, $150 million extension.
Talented young players like Anthony and McGonigle are creating excitement throughout the game, and Fenway should feel like a happening place all weekend.
Besides, the Red Sox (7-11) and Tigers (9-9) both haven’t gotten off to the starts they envisioned, which is likely to create more intensity from both squads.
“It's going to be important. I think these two series are going to be important for all of us,” said Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras. “I think we have to play with a lot of energy in front of our crowd and we have to feel the support of the Boston Red Sox fans and we have to come out of the gate playing well.”
If they can have a strong showing against the Tigers, Fenway could be even more revved up than usual for the first visit of the season from the Yankees, who are 10-8 and still trying to find their footing as well.
The last time the Sox and Yankees met up, it was in last October’s Wild Card Series in the Bronx, which went the distance with the Yankees taking Games 2 and 3 following Crochet’s gem in Game 1.
Veteran shortstop Trevor Story looks at the next seven games as a potential springboard for his Red Sox.
"We're [almost three] weeks into the season, and we feel like we haven't played anywhere close to our best baseball,” said Story. “We’re 7-11 and it could be way worse. I feel like once we get rolling and once we get to doing the things that we know we can do on a consistent basis, we'll be excited about that.”