The Red Sox will have a new-look infield with Alex Bregman out with an injury.
Bregman left Boston’s dominant win over the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park due to right quad tightness. The All-Star third baseman and manager Alex Cora were optimistic that the injury would not keep him out long, but he was left out of the lineup in the first game of a doubleheader against the O’s.
Nick Sogard will start at third base, and Abraham Toro will start at first. Cora noted the infield options the Red Sox have, as they won’t rely on outside help with Cooper Criswell appointed as the 27th man of the doubleheader.
Another notable change is Carlos Narváez batting cleanup for a returning Wilyer Abreu. Narváez has been a pleasant surprise since Boston acquired him from the New York Yankees. His defense has been valuable, but his bat helped keep him in the lineup. Cora admitted he wanted to move the catcher up the lineup to help the offense; Narváez has a 1.265 OPS in the last two weeks. That could give the lineup more consistency on offense.
David Hamilton will start at second base and bat eighth for Kristian Campbell. Hunter Dobbins will take the ball opposite Zach Eflin.
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First pitch for the first game of the Red Sox-Orioles doubleheader is scheduled at 1:05 p.m. ET, and you can catch full coverage on NESN starting at noon ET.
Here are the starting lineups for Boston and Baltimore.
RED SOX (26-26)
Jarren Duran, LF
Rafael Devers, DH
Wilyer Abreu, RF
Carlos Narváez, C
Nick Sogard, 3B
Trevor Story, SS
Abraham Toro, 1B
David Hamilton, 2B
Ceddanne Rafaela, CF
Hunter Dobbins, RHP (2-1, 3.62 ERA)
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ORIOLES (16-33)
TBD
Zach Eflin, RHP (3-2, 5.08 ERA)
