The Boston Red Sox begin a series with the Baltimore Orioles on Monday, and they’ll certainly be looking to continue making up ground in the American League East.
However, Dustin Pedroia won’t be in the lineup for the occasion, as the Red Sox continue to give him days to rest after his Sept. 8 return from a hamstring injury. Josh Rutledge will play second base and bat second in Pedroia’s absence.
David Ortiz and Pablo Sandoval are back in the lineup after Allen Craig and Deven Marrero took their respective places in Sunday’s contest against the Tampa Bay Rays. Ortiz will bat fourth as the designated hitter, and third baseman Sandoval will bat in the No. 6 spot. Blake Swihart also will take Sandy Leon’s place behind the plate and bat eighth.
Eduardo Rodriguez will be on the bump for Boston and has a chance to earn his third straight win. The left-hander is coming off a solid start against the Philadelphia Phillies, where he gave up just one earned run on eight hits over seven innings. Rodriguez has had mixed results against the O’s, though, pitching six shutout innings on June 9 and following it with six earned runs over just 3 2/3 innings on June 25.
Here are both lineups for Monday’s game.
RED SOX (68-74)
Mookie Betts, CF
Josh Rutledge, 2B
Xander Bogaerts, SS
David Ortiz, DH
Travis Shaw, 1B
Pablo Sandoval, 3B
Rusney Castillo, LF
Blake Swihart, C
Jackie Bradley Jr., RF
Eduardo Rodriguez, LHP (9-5, 4.05 ERA)
ORIOLES (69-73)
Nolan Reimold, DH
Manny Machado, 3B
Chris Davis, 1B
Adam Jones, CF
Steve Pearce, LF
Jonathan Schoop, 2B
Caleb Joseph, C
J.J. Hardy, SS
Daniel Alvarez, RF
Kevin Gausman, RHP (2-6, 4.43 ERA)
Thumbnail photo via Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports Images
