What is Patriots’ Day? Why do the Red Sox play early?

Patriots’ Day is a holiday celebrated on the third Monday in April in several states in the union. The most famous celebration of it is in Massachusetts. The day commemorates the battles of Lexington and Concord, as well as the battle of Menotomy, which were some of the first battles that were fought in the American Revolutionary War. Along with celebrating Patriots Day with battle reenactments, this is when the annual Boston Marathon is held and the Boston Red Sox always play a home game.

The Red Sox started playing home games on Patriots Day in 1959. The runners in the Boston Marathon pass by the stadium and the early start time of the game used to allow the game to finish as marathoners were passing through Kenmore Square. Now, the runners will start passing by the square, and Fenway Park, during the middle of the game.

This year, Patriots’ Day will be on April 18th. The Boston Marathon gets underway just after 9 a.m. Meanwhile, Red Sox host the Minnesota Twins in the final game of a four-game series with first pitch at 11:10 a.m. ET.