The Boston Red Sox are looking to sweep the Minnesota Twins on Sunday, and they’ll be doing it without Travis Shaw.
The third baseman is batting .139 (5-for-36) in the month of June, and he’ll be on the bench at Target Field in favor of Josh Rutledge. Rutledge, who’s batting eighth, also gets the edge with left-hander Pat Dean on the mound for the Twins, as he’s batting .385 (5-for-13) against southpaws compared to Shaw’s .146 (6-for-41).
Christian Vazquez also is in the lineup, batting ninth and catching starter Rick Porcello. Porcello will be looking to take advantage of a weak Twins lineup, as the right-hander has struggled of late. Porcello has fallen off the wagon a bit, after a great April, but this is a perfect opportunity for him to get back on.
Here are both teams’ lineups for Sunday.
RED SOX (36-25)
Mookie Betts, RF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Xander Bogaerts, SS
David Ortiz, DH
Hanley Ramirez, 1B
Jackie Bradley Jr., CF
Chris Young, LF
Josh Rutledge, 3B
Christian Vazquez, C
Rick Porcello, RHP (7-2, 4.04 ERA)
TWINS (18-43)
Eduardo Nunez, 3B
Robbie Grossman, LF
Joe Mauer, 1B
Trevoe Plouffe, DH
Brian Dozier, 2B
Max Kepler, RF
Eduardo Escobar, SS
Juan Centeno, C
Byron Buxton, CF
Pat Dean, LHP (1-2, 4.75 ERA)
Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images
