After a successful season-opening road trip, the Boston Red Sox return to Fenway Park for a Thursday matinee against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Boston opened its season in Tampa, taking three out of four from the Rays thanks to stellar starting pitching. That includes Thursday’s starter David Price, who tossed seven shutout innings in a 1-0 win over the Rays last Friday.
Manager Alex Cora’s lineup for the home opener mirrors Boston’s Opening Day lineup. Mookie Betts will lead off and play right field, with Hanley Ramirez playing first base and batting third. J.D. Martinez will make his Fenway Park debut batting cleanup as the designated hitter.
The Rays have struggled to begin the season, losing five in a row since their Opening Day win over the Red Sox. Manager Kevin Cash will hand the ball to rookie right-hander Yonny Chirinos to start Tampa Bay’s latest “bullpen game.” The 24-year-old tossed four scoreless innings against the Red Sox last week.
Here are the full lineups for Thursday’s Red Sox vs. Rays game:
BOSTON RED SOX (5-1)
Mookie Betts, RF
Andrew Benintendi, LF
Hanley Ramirez, 1B
J.D. Martinez, DH
Xander Bogaerts, SS
Rafael Devers, 3B
Eduardo Nunez, 2B
Jackie Bradley Jr., CF
Christian Vazquez, C
David Price, LHP (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
TAMPA BAY RAYS (1-5)
Matt Duffy, 3B
Kevin Keirmaier, CF
Carlos Gomez, RF
CJ Cron, DH
Wilson Ramos, C
Brad Miller, 1B
Adeiny Hechavarria, SS
Daniel Robertson, 2B
Rob Refsnyder, LF
Yonny Chirinos, RHP (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
