The Rockies entered the Series having won 21 of their last 22 games, going back to the end of the regular season, including sweeps of the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS and the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLCS. They also beat the San Diego Padres in the NL Wild Card tie-breaker. The Red Sox swept the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the ALDS and defeated the Cleveland Indians in the ALCS after trailing three games to one, taking the final three contests by a combined score of 30–5. Neither participating team was in the previous year's postseason. The Rockies' eight-day layoff was the longest in MLB postseason history, caused by their sweep in the NLCS, the ALCS going seven games, and scheduling by MLB.