Red Sox will host first scheduled doubleheader since 1978 this Sat.; here’s why

But scheduled doubleheaders over the course of a normal, 162-game schedule? Those are true rarities. In fact, research by the Red Sox indicates that it’s been 45 seasons since the team last had a doubleheader planned from the start of the season. The last scheduled doubleheader took place at Fenway on Aug. 30, 1978 against the Toronto Blue Jays. That was the fourth of four doubleheaders at Fenway that historic season.

On Saturday, that’s going to change, however, when the Red Sox host the Tampa Bay Rays in a day-night, separate-admission doubleheader at Fenway. The first game will begin at 1:10 p.m, with the second getting underway at 6:10 p.m. It’s an experimental move, one that two other franchises (Philadelphia and Colorado) are also trying. The Phillies are hosting the Phillies for two games on July 15 and the Rockies will host the Dodgers for a twin bill on Sept. 26. The Red Sox made a late change to their original 2023 schedule to include a doubleheader of their own.

“It is very much an experiment,” said Red Sox CEO and president Sam Kennedy. “When we looked at the original schedule, it had us playing (the fourth game of the series) on Monday, a wraparound series — Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. We talked to Chaim (Bloom), Brian O’Halloran and Alex Cora, and said, ‘What about trying a doubleheader on the weekend?’