After a four-game home-and-home series against the Major League Baseball-worst Philadelphia Phillies, the Boston Red Sox are on to a much more difficult task.
The Red Sox travel to Houston for a three-game set with the MLB-best Astros starting Friday night at Minute Maid Park.
Drew Pomeranz gets the ball for Boston in Game 1 of the series looking to rebound from his last start against the Detroit Tigers. The left-hander only lasted 4 1/3 innings in the contest, allowing six runs (five earned) on eight hits with two walks. He’ll be hard pressed to right the ship against Houston, though, as it ranks in the top five in the big leagues in hits, runs, home runs, on-base percentage and batting average.
The Astros will counter with Mike Fiers, who’s off to a respectable 4-2 start on the season. The right-hander particularly has been strong as of late, earning the win in his last three starts.
Hanley Ramirez will be out of the Red Sox’s lineup for a second straight game, as Chris Young gets the nod at designated hitter for the series opener. And after sitting the last two games, Josh Rutledge returns to the lineup, batting eighth and playing third base.
Here are the complete lineups for Friday night’s Red Sox-Astros game.
RED SOX (37-29)
Mookie Betts, RF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Xander Bogaerts, SS
Mitch Moreland, 1B
Andrew Benintendi, LF
Chris Young, DH
Jackie Bradley Jr., CF
Josh Rutledge, 3B
Christian Vazquez, C
Drew Pomeranz, LHP (6-4, 4.48 ERA)
ASTROS (45-22)
George Springer, RF
Jose Altuve, 2B
Carlos Correa, SS
Evan Gattis, DH
Brian McCann, C
Yuli Gurriel, 1B
Alex Bregman, 3B
Derek Fisher, LF
Jake Marisnick, CF
Mike Fiers, RHP (4-2, 4.29 ERA)
Thumbnail photo via Adam Hunger/USA TODAY Sports Images
