Detroit Tigers - Boston Red Sox Game 1 Live Stream of ALCS: MLB Playoffs 2013 Preview, Schedule & Running Scores (video)

By Ed Molina (staff@latinospost.com) | First Posted: Oct 12, 2013 05:40 PM EDT

Tags major league baseball, mlb, American League, ALCS, american league championship series, detroit tigers, Boston Red Sox, Anibal Sanchez, Jon Lester, ALCS 2013

The Boston Red Sox will face Detroit Tigers pitcher Anibal Sanchez Saturday night in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series, a year removed from a 93-game lose season last year.

The Red Sox acted swiftly last year, replacing manager Bobby Valentine after only one season and replacing him with John Farrell, who led Boston on a 28-game turnaround, finishing the year 97-65 (second most in franchise history since 1978) and winning their first American League East title since 2007.

The Red Sox face a Tigers team that is looking to return to a second straight World Series appearance and must get past one of the toughest pitching staffs in the league. Sanchez went 14-8 this season with an American League-leading 2.57 ERA. The Tigers are deep in starting pitching with 2011 Cy Young and Most Valuable Award winner Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, the league leader in wins, waiting for their turns on the mound.

"I don't think there are really any consolation prizes when you're playing them," said Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia. "All their guys are really good. All their guys are horses."

The Red Sox will counter with Jon Lester (15-8, 3.75 ERA), who went 2-0 against the Tigers this year with a 4.26 ERA, and has vast postseason experience, having pitched the deciding Game 4 of the 2007 World Series against the Colorado Rockies. Lester has held opposing batters to a .199 batting average, with 46 strikeouts and 16 walks in 49 2/3 playoff innings.

"The more serious the game is, the better he gets," said Red Sox catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia. "Sometimes when you're facing teams when you maybe don't have the record or the lineup isn't as strong, maybe you can let off a little bit. But he has the ability to turn it on whenever he wants. So if he's in trouble, he's got no problem getting out of it."