The Boston Red Sox are shuffling their lineup a bit after taking an 8-2 beating in Game 1 of their American League Division Series against the Houston Astros.
Chris Young was added to the ALDS roster after Eduardo Nunez went down with a knee injury in his first at-bat in Game 1, and he’ll start as the designated hitter and bat sixth in Houston on Friday. Young actually has fared quite well against Astros Game 2 starter Dallas Keuchel in his career, as he has a .304 average (7-for-23) against the left-hander.
Deven Marrero also will start at third base in place of Rafael Devers and bat eighth, while Hanley Ramirez will play first base over Mitch Moreland and bat fifth. This Red Sox lineup overall has had Keuchel’s number in seasons past, batting a collective .315 (17-for-54). However, Game 2 will be Boston’s first time facing Keuchel in 2017.
The Red Sox will trot out Drew Pomeranz to counter the 2015 American League Cy Young Award winner, and he’ll be making his first postseason start after pitching in relief for Boston in last year’s ALDS against the Cleveland Indians. The left-hander was consistently good in the regular season, including two starts against Houston in which he gave up only one earned run in each to go 1-0 with a 1.46 ERA.
Here are the Red Sox’s and the Astros’ lineups for Friday’s 2:05 p.m. ET game.
RED SOX (0-1)
Xander Bogaerts, SS
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Andrew Benintendi, LF
Mookie Betts, RF
Hanley Ramirez, 1B
Chris Young, DH
Christian Vazquez, C
Deven Marrero, 3B
Jackie Bradley Jr., CF
Drew Pomeranz, LHP (17-6, 3.32 ERA in 2017 regular season)
ASTROS (1-0)
George Springer, CF
Alex Bregman, 3B
Jose Altuve, 2B
Carlos Correa, SS
Evan Gattis, DH
Josh Reddick, RF
Yuli Gurriel, 1B
Marwin Gonzalez, LF
Brian McCann, C
Dallas Keuchel, LHP (14-5, 2.90 ERA in 2017 regular season)
Thumbnail photo via Shanna Lockwood/USA TODAY Sports Images
