The Boston Red Sox look to earn a series split with the Oakland Athletes when the two clubs meet for the finale of their four-game set Thursday afternoon at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.
Steve Pearce will make his season debut for the Red Sox, playing first base and batting third. The veteran first baseman began the campaign on the injured list after injuring his calf in mid-March. Xander Bogaerts and Christian Vazquez also return to the lineup after sitting out Wednesday’s win. Rafael Devers will get an off day, with Eduardo Nunez taking over at third base.
It will be a battle of southpaws on the mound as Eduardo Rodriguez squares off against Brett Anderson. Rodriguez had a rough go of it in his first outing of the season, allowing six runs (five earned) on eight hits over 4 1/3 innings in a loss to the Seattle Mariners. Anderson fared much better than his counterpart, allowing just three hits over six scoreless innings in a win over the Los Angeles Angels.
Here are the full lineups for Thursday’s Red Sox-Athletics game:
RED SOX (2-5)
Mookie Betts, RF
Andrew Benintendi, LF
Steve Pearce, 1B
J.D. Martinez, DH
Xander Bogaerts, SS
Eduardo Nunez, 3B
Brock Holt, 2B
Christian Vazquez, C
Jackie Bradley Jr., CF
Eduardo Rodriguez, LHP (0-1, 10.38 ERA)
ATHLETICS (5-4)
Robbie Grossman, LF
Marcus Semien, SS
Stephen Piscotty, RF
Khris Davis, DH
Chad Pinder, 3B
Mark Canha, 1B
Jurickson Profar, 2B
Ramon Laureano, CF
Josh Phegley, C
Brett Anderson, LHP (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
