The Red Sox are playing early today as part of a tradition on Patriots' Day, which is a special day in Boston that also hosts the Boston Marathon. On Patriots' Day, the Red Sox typically have an early start time to allow fans to enjoy both the baseball game and the marathon festivities. This early game time tradition has been going on for decades and is unique to this day to accommodate the city's celebrations.

For today, August 29, 2025, the Red Sox game against the Pittsburgh Pirates is scheduled for 7:10 PM, which is a normal evening start time. The early game times usually apply on Patriots' Day, not on regular days like today. So if the reference is to a truly early game today, it might be a misunderstanding or a specific exception which is not reflected in the available schedules.