The Red Sox finally ended a 13-game postseason losing streak that had dated back to the fateful Game 6 of the 1986 World Series against the Mets. Pedro Martinez, a 19-game winner during the season, combined with Jim Corsi for the win at Cleveland, and he had plenty of support, including a pair of homers by Mo Vaughn, who had hit 40 during the regular season. Boston had a 1-0 series lead.

But the Red Sox were a team on the rise, and the Indians were still an AL powerhouse, coming off another near-miss in the World Series against the Marlins. Cleveland won the remaining three to advance. After being shut out for seven innings in the clincher, the Indians scored two in the eighth on a David Justice double, and Michael Jackson got his third save of the ALDS to send Cleveland on to face New York in the ALCS.

Despite the elimination, Nomar Garciaparra continued to blossom as part of the new breed of great AL shortstops. In his first postseason, he hit three homers and drove in 11 runs, batting .333 (5-for-15).

This marked the first year that the best-of-five Division Series scheduling format was changed. From 1995-97, the team with home-field advantage was on the road for Games 1 and 2, then it would be at home for all the remaining games.

Path to the ALDS: Cleveland (89-73) won the AL Central by nine games; Boston (92-70) won the AL Wild Card

Managers: Mike Hargrove, CLE; Jimy Williams, BOS