The Boston Red Sox have played a long, tough series with the New York Yankees — including an 11-inning 9-5 win Wednesday — so some of their starters are getting a day off for the finale.
David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia and Brock Holt are among those sitting for Thursday night’s contest. Allen Craig will start at designated hitter and bat sixth for Ortiz, while Josh Rutledge will start at second base and bat last. Rusney Castillo is returning to the lineup after sitting the first three games with a quad strain, and he’ll play in right field and hit out of the No. 5 spot.
Sandy Leon also will fill in for Blake Swihart, taking over the catching duties for Rich Hill and batting eighth.
Hill will be looking to continue his historic run after his last outing Saturday, when he became the first American League pitcher in the last 100 years with 10 strikeouts in each of his first three starts with a single team. That game against the Baltimore Orioles also was a complete game shutout, and Hill has compiled a 1.17 ERA in his three starts for Boston.
Here are both teams’ lineups for Thursday’s matchup.
RED SOX (78-80)
Mookie Betts, CF
Jackie Bradley Jr., LF
Xander Bogaerts, SS
Travis Shaw, 1B
Rusney Castillo, RF
Allen Craig, DH
Deven Marrero, 3B
Sandy Leon, C
Josh Rutledge, 2B
Rich Hill, LHP (2-0, 1.17 ERA)
YANKEES (86-72)
Brett Gardner, CF
Rob Refsnyder, 2B
Alex Rodriguez, DH
Carlos Beltran, RF
Chris Young, LF
John Ryan Murphy, C
Greg Bird, 1B
Didi Gregorius, SS
Brendan Ryan, 3B
CC Sabathia, LHP (5-10, 4.82 ERA)
Thumbnail photo via Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports Images
