The Red Sox have altered the start time of Friday’s game against the Yankees to allow fans to see Game 4 of the NBA Finals between the Celtics and the Mavericks.
The Red Sox pushed the first pitch time to 6:30 p.m., 40 minutes earlier than the original 7:10 p.m. timetable. The Celtics and Mavericks will face off at 8:30 p.m. ET in Dallas.
According to the Red Sox, “the change was made as a courtesy to fans interested in watching the Celtics take on the Dallas Mavericks in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, scheduled to start at 8:30 p.m. on Friday, June 14 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
“For Friday’s Red Sox-Yankees game, Fenway Park gates will open at 5 p.m. Season ticket holders and Red Sox Nation members can enter Gate C beginning at 4 p.m. The game will be shown on NESN and broadcast on WEEI 93.7 FM in English and WCCM 1490 AM/103.7 FM in Spanish.”
The Celtics lead the Finals 2-0 into Wednesday’s Game 3 in Dallas. If they win Wednesday, they will have a chance to win the championship Friday night. Game 5 would take place Monday night while the Red Sox are in Toronto.
The Red Sox made a similar modification before Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Bruins and Blues in 2019, changing the game from 7:10 p.m. to 4:05 p.m.