The Boston Red Sox 2011 season was the 111th in the team's history. The Red Sox opened their 2011 season playing away from Fenway Park against the Texas Rangers. Breaking from the traditional opening day of Sunday or Monday, Major League Baseball opened in 2011 on a Thursday, March 31, and the Red Sox opened the season on Friday, April 1. The Red Sox were favored to win the AL East and reach the World Series in the offseason, with some comparing the team to the 1927 New York Yankees. After leading the Tampa Bay Rays by nine games in the AL wild card race on September 3—when their odds of reaching the playoffs peaked at 99.6%—the Red Sox lost 18 of their final 24 games. On the last day of the season, September 28, 2011, a Boston bottom of the 9th blown save loss against the Baltimore Oriole