Baseball is back.
The Boston Red Sox will kick off their title defense Thursday night against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park.
Though the Red Sox seldom shuffled their lineup last season, there are a handful of changes manager Alex Cora is rolling with to begin the season — some of which aren’t totally unexpected. Andrew Benintendi will hit leadoff, with Mookie Betts following him. Rafael Devers is set to bat third, with J.D. Martinez in the four-hole followed by Xander Bogaerts.
Chris Sale, who signed a five-year extension with the Red Sox last weekend, will get the starting nod. He threw the final pitch of the 2018 season, and is set to throw the first of Boston’s 2019 campaign.
The Mariners will counter with Marco Gonzales.
Here are the full lineups for Thursday’s Red Sox-Mariners game:
RED SOX (0-0)
Andrew Benintendi, LF
Mookie Betts, RF
Rafael Devers, 3B
J.D. Martinez, DH
Xander Bogaerts, SS
Mitch Moreland, 1B
Eduardo Nunez, 2B
Jackie Bradley Jr., CF
Christian Vazquez, C
Chris Sale, LHP (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
MARINERS (0-0)
Mitch Haniger, RF
Domingo Santana, LF
Edwin Encarnación, 1B
Jay Bruce, DH
Ryon Healy, 3B
Tim Beckham, SS
Mallex Smith, CF
David Freitas, C
Dee Gordon, 2B
Marco Gonzales, LHP (1-0, 4.50 ERA)
