A few days ago, the Astros looked like they were in trouble.
Houston won the first game of the ALCS, but back-to-back games in which the Red Sox posted nine-plus runs and outscored the Astros by a combined 21-8 put Houston on its heels. Especially following the 12-3 loss in Game 3 to put Boston up 2-1 with two games remaining at Fenway Park, the series looked like it might not return to Houston.
Not only will the series now return to Houston, but the Astros will have two chances to return to the World Series for the third time in five years. The Astros used a late ninth-inning surge in Game 4 to win 9-2 and again piled on late against Boston in Game 5 to win 9-1 and take a 3-2 advantage in the ALCS.
MORE: Watch the 2021 MLB postseason live with fuboTV (7-day free trial)
While Astros manager Dusty Baker did not say after Game 5 who will take the hill in Game 6, there is no doubt to whom the Red Sox will hand the ball.
Nathan Eovaldi finished the regular season as the American League pitching leader in Wins Above Replacement, according to Fangraphs, and he's delivered in key moments for the Red Sox. Boston has won each of his three starts, which have been the American League Wild Card Game against the Yankees, ALDS Game 3 against the Rays and ALCS Game 2 against the Astros. However, when pitching in relief in Game 4, he was charged with a blown save and the loss as he allowed the go-ahead run to score in the top of the ninth before the Astros really pulled away against Martin Perez later in the inning.
MORE: Astros' two-out RBI success in 2021 MLB postseason puts them in historic company
Sporting News has you covered with all the information you need to watch the Red Sox take on the Astros on Friday.
What channel is Astros vs. Red Sox on today?
- TV channel: FS1
- Live stream: Fox Sports app | fuboTV (7-day free trial)
FOX will continue its coverage of the American League postseason with the airing of ALCS Game 6. Joe Buck will be calling play-by-play with John Smoltz and Jeff Francoeur providing analysis. Tom Verducci and Ken Rosenthal will be the reporters during the game.
Those hoping to stream the game can find it on the Fox Sports app, or on fuboTV, which offers a 7-day free trial.
In Canada, all postseason games are available on Sportsnet and SN1.
Astros vs. Red Sox start time
- Date: Friday, Oct. 22
- First pitch: 8:08 p.m. ET
The Astros vs. Red Sox game is scheduled to start at 8:08 p.m. ET on Friday.
MLB playoff schedule 2021
National League
Wild-card game
| Date | Game | Start time | TV channel | Result |
| Wed., Oct. 6 | Cardinals at Dodgers | 8:10 p.m. | TBS | 3-1, LAD |
Division Series
TBS will handle the broadcast for all NLDS games in both series.
| Date | Game | Start time | TV channel | Result |
| Fri., Oct. 8 | Dodgers at Giants, Game 1 | 9:37 p.m. | TBS | 4-0, SF |
| Fri., Oct. 8 | Braves at Brewers, Game 1 | 4:37 p.m. | TBS | 2-1, MIL |
| Sat., Oct. 9 | Dodgers at Giants, Game 2 | 9:07 p.m. | TBS | 9-2, LAD |
| Sat., Oct. 9 | Braves at Brewers, Game 2 | 5:07 p.m. | TBS | 3-0, ATL |
| Mon., Oct. 11 | Giants at Dodgers, Game 3 | 9:37 p.m. | TBS | 1-0, SF |
| Mon., Oct. 11 | Brewers at Braves, Game 3 | 1:07 p.m. | TBS | 3-0, ATL |
| Tue., Oct. 12 | Giants at Dodgers, Game 4 | 9:07 p.m. | TBS | 7-2, LAD |
| Tue., Oct. 12 | Brewers at Braves, Game 4 | 5:15 p.m. | TBS | 5-4, ATL |
| Thu., Oct. 14 | Dodgers at Giants, Game 5* | 9:07 p.m. | TBS | 2-1, LAD |
*If necessary
Championship Series
TBS will continue its National League playoff coverage with coverage of every NLCS game.
| Date | Game | Start time | TV channel | Result |
| Sat., Oct. 16 | Dodgers at Braves, Game 1 | 8:07 p.m. | TBS | 3-2, ATL |
| Sun., Oct. 17 | Dodgers at Braves, Game 2 | 7:38 p.m. | TBS | 5-4, ATL |
| Tue., Oct. 19 | Braves at Dodgers, Game 3 | 5:08 p.m. | TBS | 6-5, LAD |
| Wed., Oct. 20 | Braves at Dodgers, Game 4 | 8:08 p.m. | TBS | 9-2, ATL |
| Thu., Oct. 21 | Braves at Dodgers, Game 5 | 8:08 p.m. | TBS | -- |
| Sat., Oct. 23 | Dodgers at Braves, Game 6* | 5:08 p.m. | TBS | -- |
| Sun., Oct. 24 | Dodgers at Braves, Game 7* | 7:38 p.m. | TBS | -- |
*If necessary.
American League
Wild-card game
| Date | Game | Start time | TV channel | Result |
| Tue., Oct. 5 | Yankees at Red Sox | 8:08 p.m. | ESPN | 6-2, BOS |
Division Series
MLB Network and FS1 will carry all the ALDS games, until potential Game 5s, which would be broadcast exclusively on FS1.
| Date | Game | Start time | TV channel | Result |
| Thu., Oct. 7 | Red Sox at Rays, Game 1 | 8:07 p.m. | FS1 | 5-0, TB |
| Thu., Oct. 7 | White Sox at Astros, Game 1 | 4:07 p.m. | FS1 | 6-1, HOU |
| Fri., Oct. 8 | Red Sox at Rays, Game 2 | 7:02 p.m. | FS1 | 14-6, BOS |
| Fri., Oct. 8 | White Sox at Astros, Game 2 | 2:07 p.m. | MLB Network | 9-4, HOU |
| Sun., Oct. 10 | Rays at Red Sox, Game 3 | 4:07 p.m. | MLB Network | 6-4 (13), BOS |
| Sun., Oct. 10 | Astros at White Sox, Game 3 | 8:07 p.m. | FS1 | 12-6, CHI |
| Mon., Oct. 11 | Rays at Red Sox, Game 4 | 7:07 p.m. | FS1 | 6-5, BOS |
| Tue., Oct. 12 | Astros at White Sox, Game 4 | 2:07 p.m. | FS1 | 10-1, HOU |
*If necessary.
Championship Series
Fox and FS1 will split coverage of the ALCS.
| Date | Game | Start time | TV channel | Result |
| Fri., Oct. 15 | Red Sox at Astros, Game 1 | 8:07 p.m. | Fox | 5-4, HOU |
| Sat., Oct. 16 | Red Sox at Astros, Game 2 | 4:20 p.m. | Fox | 9-5, BOS |
| Mon., Oct. 18 | Astros at Red Sox, Game 3 | 8:07 p.m. | Fox/FS1 | 12-3, BOS |
| Tue., Oct. 19 | Astros at Red Sox, Game 4 | 8:08 p.m. | FS1 | 9-2, HOU |
| Wed., Oct. 20 | Astros at Red Sox, Game 5 | 5:08 p.m. | FS1 | 9-1, HOU |
| Fri., Oct. 22 | Red Sox at Astros, Game 6 | 8:08 p.m. | FS1 | -- |
| Sat., Oct. 23 | Red Sox at Astros, Game 7* | 8:08 p.m. | Fox/FS1 | -- |
*If necessary.
World Series schedule
Every World Series game will be on Fox.
| Date | Game | Start time | TV channel | Result |
| Tue., Oct. 26 | TBD at TBD, Game 1 | TBD | Fox | -- |
| Wed., Oct. 27 | TBD at TBD, Game 2 | TBD | Fox | -- |
| Fri., Oct. 29 | TBD at TBD, Game 3 | TBD | Fox | -- |
| Sat., Oct. 30 | TBD at TBD, Game 4 | TBD | Fox | -- |
| Sun., Oct. 31 | TBD at TBD, Game 5* | TBD | Fox | -- |
| Tue., Nov. 2 | TBD at TBD, Game 6* | TBD | Fox | -- |
| Wed., Nov. 3 | TBD at TBD, Game 7* | TBD | Fox | -- |
*If necessary.