Daisuke Matsuzaka will make his first major league appearance in nearly three months today when the Boston Red Sox open a three-game series with John Lackey’s Los Angeles Angels, their likely AL division series opponent if they hold onto the wild card.

With the Red Sox holding a 4 1/2-game lead on Texas in the wild card race and the Angels six games ahead of the Rangers, the teams are on track to meet in the first round of the playoffs for the third straight season and fourth time in six years.

Boston has gone 9-1 in the previous three division series, going on to win the World Series in 2004 and 2007. But the -105 favored Red Sox are still eager to continue their five-game winning streak Tuesday, especially considering they’ve lost 12 of 14 to the Angels in the regular season.

The Angels went 5-1 at Fenway last year.

This information is provided in partnership with BoDog Sportsbook

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