The Boston Red Sox are playing it safe with Dustin Pedroia.
Pedroia is out of the lineup again Sunday afternoon for the Red Sox’s series finale against the Kansas City Royals. The veteran second baseman sat out Saturday’s game with what manager John Farrell called a minor knee issue.
Pedroia’s absence means Eduardo Nunez is back in the lineup playing second base after launching two home runs Saturday night. The newest member of the Red Sox is 5-for-9 with three RBIs in his first two games with Boston.
In fact, the Sox’s starting lineup remains unchanged from the one that earned a dramatic, walk-off victory over the Royals on Saturday. Christian Vazquez is back behind the plate catching starter Drew Pomeranz, who is in the midst of an excellent campaign; the left-hander boasts a 10-4 record with a 3.59 ERA and hasn’t taken a loss since June 11.
Here are the complete lineups for Saturday’s Red Sox-Royals game.
RED SOX (57-48)
Mookie Betts, RF
Eduardo Nunez, 2B
Andrew Benintendi, LF
Hanley Ramirez, DH
Jackie Bradley Jr., CF
Xander Bogaerts, SS
Mitch Moreland, 1B
Christian Vazquez, C
Rafael Devers, 3B
Drew Pomeranz, LHP (10-4, 3.59 ERA)
ROYALS (54-48)
Whit Merrifield, 2B
Jorge Bonifacio, RF
Lorenzo Cain, CF
Eric Hosmer, 1B
Salvador Perez, DH
Alcides Escobar, SS
Alex Gordon, LF
Ramon Torres, 3B
Drew Butera, C
Jason Hammel, RHP (4-8, 4.81 ERA)
[polldaddy type="iframe" survey="431FFE4513DAA40B" height="auto" domain="nesnpromo" id="peoples-united-bank-leading-off-giveaway-2017"]Thumbnail photo via Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports Images
