BOSTON — The Red Sox will send Rick Porcello to the mound Wednesday night as they look to wrap up a three-game sweep of the Oakland Athletics at Fenway Park.
Porcello is off to a superb start in his second season with Boston, posting a 5-1 record and a 2.95 ERA through his first six starts. The right-hander was a hard-luck loser in his most recent outing, allowing three runs over seven innings Friday in a 3-2 loss to the New York Yankees.
The Red Sox have torn the cover off the ball since returning from Yankee Stadium, beating the A’s by a combined score of 27-12 over the first two games of their current series. They’ll have arguably their most dangerous hitter back for Wednesday’s finale, as David Ortiz returns to the lineup after sitting out Tuesday night’s tilt.
Oakland left-hander Eric Surkamp will be the man tasked with cooling Boston’s red-hot bats. This has been a rough season for Surkamp, who was sent to Triple-A Nashville last month after posting a 5.59 ERA in his first four starts. Wednesday will be his first big league start since April 24.
Here are the starting lineups for both teams:
RED SOX (20-13)
Mookie Betts, RF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Xander Bogaerts, SS
David Ortiz, DH
Hanley Ramirez, 1B
Chris Young, LF
Travis Shaw, 1B
Christian Vazquez, C
Jackie Bradley Jr., CF
Rick Porcello, RHP (5-1, 2.95 ERA)
ATHLETICSÂ (14-20)
Coco Crisp, DH
Billy Burns, CF
Josh Reddick, RF
Khris Davis, LF
Steven Vogt, C
Billy Butler, 1B
Yonder Alonso, 3B
Marcus Semien, SS
Chris Coghlan, 2B
Eric Surkamp, LHPÂ (0-2, 5.59 ERA)
Thumbnail photo via Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports Images
