Jackie Bradley Jr.’s sensational grab Friday wasn’t enough to earn him a spot in Saturday’s starting lineup.
Bradley, who robbed Howie Kendrick in the ninth inning of the Boston Red Sox’s 4-2, series-opening win over the Los Angeles Angels, will sit for the fourth time in five games Saturday. The 24-year-old outfielder is stuck in an 0-for-27 slump at the plate despite his defensive wizardry.
Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington acknowledged earlier this week that Bradley needs to improve offensively. At-bats are becoming increasingly tough to come by, though, as the Red Sox will again go with an outfield comprised of Yoenis Cespedes (left field), Brock Holt (center field) and Daniel Nava (right field).
Clay Buchholz will take the ball for Boston in Saturday’s middle game. Buchholz allowed seven earned runs on eight hits over five innings in his last start against the New York Yankees, continuing what has been a very disappointing season for the right-hander.
Mike Trout will serve as the designated hitter for Los Angeles. Josh Hamilton will shift to center field. Collin Cowgill and Kole Calhoun will play left field and right field, respectively.
Saturday’s complete lineups are below.
Boston Red Sox (51-64)
Brock Holt, CF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Yoenis Cespedes, LF
Mike Napoli, 1B
Daniel Nava, RF
Xander Bogaerts, SS
Will Middlebrooks, 3B
Christian Vazquez, C
Clay Buchholz, RHP (5-7, 6.20 ERA)
Los Angeles Angels (67-48)
Kole Calhoun, RF
Mike Trout, DH
Albert Pujols, 1B
Josh Hamilton, CF
Erick Aybar, SS
Howie Kendrick, 2B
David Freese, 3B
Hank Conger, C
Collin Cowgill, LF
Garrett Richards, RHP (12-4, 2.58 ERA)
