After a disappointing series in Pittsburgh, the Boston Red Sox continue their 10-game road swing in Baltimore and they’ll look to Rusney Castillo to reverse their fortunes.
Castillo, who recorded his first career hit in his major league debut Wednesday, will make his second career start Friday, hitting seventh and playing center field.
While Castillo tries to prove his worth in his second game, Garin Cecchini will make his first career start. Cecchini made two appearances in pinch-hit roles against the Pirates this week and had two at-bats in a game against the Tampa Bay Rays in June.
Cecchini is 2-for-3 in his young career, and he’ll hit eighth Friday while playing third base.
Also returning to the Red Sox lineup is Castillo’s fellow countryman, Yoenis Cespedes. The Cuban slugger will hit cleanup after he had the night off in the series finale against the Pirates and will look to halt a 4-for-34 slump.
The Red Sox will face Kevin Gausman in the first of three games at Camden Yards. Of the players in Friday’s Red Sox lineup, only Cespedes, Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz, Daniel Nava and Xander Bogaerts have faced Gausman. They’re hitting .286 against Gausman, with the only home run coming from Ortiz.
On the mound for Boston will be Allen Webster, who won his last start at Kansas City, when he pitched six innings and allowed four hits and two earned runs. After having an ERA of 7.28 in August, Webster has settled down in September with two decent outings.
Here are the rest of the lineups.
Boston Red Sox (66-87)
Mookie Betts, 2B
Xander Bogaerts, SS
David Ortiz, DH
Yoenis Cespedes, LF
Daniel Nava, RF
Allen Craig, 1B
Rusney Castillo, CF
Garin Cecchini, 3B
Christian Vazquez, C
Allen Webster, RHP (4-3, 6.02 ERA)
Baltimore Orioles (92-60)
Alejandro De Aza, LF
David Lough, CF
Steve Pearce, RF
Nelson Cruz, DH
Jimmy Paredes, 3B
Christian Walker, 1B
Ryan Flaherty, SS
Caleb Joseph, C
Jonathan Schoop, 2B
Kevin Gausman, RHP (7-7, 3.57 ERA)
Photo via Charles LeClaire/USA TODAY Sports Images
