BOSTON — Allen Craig’s opportunity has arrived.
Craig earned his second consecutive start Wednesday in place of the injured Hanley Ramirez. The Red Sox clearly are giving Craig a chance to run with the left field job in Ramirez’s absence, and he’ll bat sixth in the team’s series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park.
Craig will be joined in the Red Sox’s outfield by Mookie Betts (center field) and Brock Holt (right field). Betts is coming off a two-homer performance in Tuesday’s win, which snapped a four-game losing streak and gave Boston something to hang its hat on amid a disappointing stretch.
Blake Swihart earned his first win as a major league catcher Tuesday as Rick Porcello provided an excellent outing. The rookie will be back behind the dish Wednesday as Justin Masterson toes the bump.
Here are the complete lineups for Wednesday’s Red Sox-Rays matchup.
RED SOX (13-14)
Mookie Betts, CF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Mike Napoli, 1B
Pablo Sandoval, 3B
Allen Craig, LF
Brock Holt, RF
Xander Bogaerts, SS
Blake Swihart, C
Justin Masterson, RHP (2-0, 4.71 ERA)
RAYS (14-13)
Kevin Kiermaier, CF
Logan Forsythe, 2B
James Loney, 1B
Evan Longoria, 3B
David DeJesus, DH
Joey Butler, LF
Asdrubal Cabrera, SS
Brandon Guyer, RF
Rene Rivera, C
Alex Colome, RHP (1-0, 0.00)
Thumbnail photo via Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports Images
