The Boston Red Sox will be looking to get back in the win column on Tuesday when they wrap up a brief two-game series against the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park.
With the team riding a 4-6 record over the last 10 games, the Red Sox will try to earn a series split with the Orioles before heading to The Bronx to take on the New York Yankees for a highly anticipated four-game set that begins on Thursday.
As expected, manager Alex Cora’s lineup looks a little different this evening following the recent signing of first baseman Nathaniel Lowe. After making his debut with a pitch-hit walk during the ninth inning of Monday’s 6-3 loss, Lowe is penciled in as the designated hitter and batting seventh during his first start in a Red Sox uniform.
With that said, center fielder/ second baseman Ceddanne Rafaela was notably absent when the lineup card was posted before game time. According to MLB.com’s Ian Browne, Cora decided to give Rafaela a day off to get his mechanics back at the plate.
“There’s a lot there right now,” said Cora, per Browne. “So I think mental day will help him. I think, mechanics wise, he’s off, and that’s something that me and [hitting coach] Pete [Fatse], we talked about it yesterday. So we’ll work on a few things. Tomorrow’s an off day. So hopefully he can get two and be ready for Thursday.”
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Rafaela has struggled over his last 30 games and is batting .200 with one home run and six RBIs over his last 110 at-bats. With right fielder Wilyer Abreu currently day-to-day and nursing a calf strain, Rafaela’s absence from the lineup made the day off even more noteworthy.
