The Boston Red Sox’s first trip to Yankee Stadium in 2018 hasn’t been a pleasant experience.
Boston came into the Bronx with Major League Baseball’s best record, leading the rival New York Yankees by one game. But the Yankees have taken the first two games of the three-game set and will go for the sweep Thursday behind veteran left-hander C.C. Sabathia.
The 37-year-old has gotten off to a good start this season, tallying a 2-0 record while not allowing more than three runs in any of his six starts.
Sabathia also has acquitted himself well against the Red Sox of late, going 4-0 with an ERA under two over the past two seasons.
Boston will counter with Eduardo Rodriguez. The young lefty has struggled lately, allowing 10 earned runs in his last 10 innings pitched.
The Red Sox will send out a similar lineup to the one that took the field Wednesday. Jackie Bradley Jr. once again will begin the game on the bench, which puts Mookie Betts in center field, J.D. Martinez in right and Hanley Ramirez manning the designated hitter spot. The red-hot Mitch Moreland remains in the lineup, playing first base and batting sixth.
Here are the full lineups for Thursday’s Red Sox-Yankees game:
BOSTON RED SOX (25-11)
Mookie Betts, CF
Andrew Benintendi, LF
Hanley Ramirez, DH
J.D. Martinez, RF
Xander Bogaerts, SS
Mitch Moreland, 1B
Eduardo Nunez, 2B
Rafael Devers, 3B
Christian Vazquez, C
Eduardo Rodriguez, LHP (3-0, 5.29 ERA)
NEW YORK YANKEES (26-10)
Brett Gardner, CF
Aaron Judge, RF
Didi Gregorius, SS
Giancarlo Stanton, LF
Gary Sanchez, C
Tyler Austin, 1B
Miguel Andujar, DH
Gleyber Torres, 2B
Ronald Torreyes, 3B
C.C. Sabathia, LHP (2-0, 1.39 ERA)