Henry Owens will pair up with catcher Blake Swihart in his major league debut.
The Boston Red Sox called up Owens for Tuesday’s game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. The 23-year-old left-hander is one of the Red Sox’s top prospects, so there’s been a lot of buildup surrounding his first big league start in the Bronx.
Owens, a first-round sandwich pick (36th overall) in 2011, has been impressive in the minors over the last three seasons. The lefty posted a 3.16 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP in 21 starts at Triple-A Pawtucket this season before Tuesday’s call-up. He went 17-5 with a 2.94 ERA in 26 starts split between Pawtucket and Double-A Portland in 2014.
Swihart is familiar with Owens, having worked with him in the minors. The 23-year-old catcher, who has been splitting time with veteran backstop Ryan Hanigan, will bat eighth Tuesday, with Jackie Bradley Jr. rounding out the Red Sox’s lineup out of the No. 9 hole.
Pablo Sandoval will return to the starting lineup at third base and bat fifth. Sandoval missed two games after being hit by a pitch Thursday night but pinch-hit in Sunday’s series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park.
The complete lineups for Tuesday’s Red Sox-Yankees lineup are below.
RED SOX (47-59)
Brock Holt, 2B
Xander Bogaerts, SS
David Ortiz, DH
Hanley Ramirez, LF
Pablo Sandoval, 3B
Mike Napoli, 1B
Alejandro De Aza, RF
Blake Swihart, C
Jackie Bradley Jr., CF
Henry Owens, LHP (0-0, — )
YANKEES (59-45)
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Chris Young, LF
Alex Rodriguez, DH
Mark Teixeira, 1B
Brian McCann, C
Carlos Beltran, RF
Chase Headley, 3B
Didi Gregorius, SS
Brendan Ryan, 2B
Masahiro Tanaka, RHP (7-4, 3.80 ERA)
Thumbnail photo via Troy Taormina/USA TODAY Sports Images
