Farrell stays course with ALCS roster
Boston going with 11 pitchers; starter could shift to 'pen in later games
BOSTON -- The Red Sox will roll into the American League Championship Series with the same 25-man roster they used for the AL Division Series.
The ALCS will begin on Saturday against either the Tigers or A's at 8 p.m. ET and can be seen on FOX.
Manager John Farrell said Thursday that he doesn't anticipate any changes for the next round, despite the transition from the five- to seven-game series that asks more out of the pitching staff. The team will still go with 14 position players and 11 pitchers.
"There was a review," Farrell said. "Even when you get into a seven-game series vs. a five-game, you've got one additional day off. So there was a review, but nothing glaring. No injury issues that would have prompted an adjustment, so we stay as we've been."
Beyond the four starters -- Jon Lester will take the mound for Game 1 Saturday with John Lackey, Clay Buchholz and Jake Peavy following in a yet-to-be-determined order -- the Red Sox will move forward with Koji Uehara, Craig Breslow and Junichi Tazawa as the late-inning relievers along with Brandon Workman, Ryan Dempster, Felix Doubront and Franklin Morales.
Farrell said he could envision one of his starters moving into the bullpen if the need presented itself late in the series.
"Depending how, yeah, certainly open-minded to it, yes," Farrell said. "But it's going to be dependent on usage of guys leading up to that. If we get into an extra-inning game, who's available the next day, all those things we would typically look at in the regular season. But we're certainly open to it.
"And I know if you were to ask Jake Peavy, he would thrive on the opportunity coming out of the bullpen."