It appears Christian Vazquez is a little banged up.
During the Boston Red Sox’s loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday, Vazquez took a foul tip off the inside of his leg in the ninth inning. He clearly was laboring but finished the inning. After the game, however, Sox manager Alex Cora said it “got him good.”
And Thursday, with the Red Sox looking to avoid getting swept in the three-game set at Fenway Park, it’ll be Sandy Leon catching starter Andrew Cashner, not Vazquez. Cashner’s first three starts with the Red Sox had been caught by Vazquez.
As for other lineup notes, Jackie Bradley Jr. gets the night off, with Andrew Benintendi playing center field and Sam Travis occupying left. Mitch Moreland will handle first base duties.
Cashner will be opposed by southpaw Brendan McKay.
Here are the lineups for Thursday’s Red Sox-Rays game:
BOSTON RED SOX (59-50)
Mookie Betts, RF
Rafael Devers, 3B
Xander Bogaerts, SS
J.D. Martinez, DH
Andrew Benintendi, CF
Sam Travis, LF
Mitch Moreland, 1B
Michael Chavis, 2B
Sandy Leon, C
Andrew Cashner, RHP (10-5, 4.18 ERA)
TAMPA BAY RAYS (62-48)
Ji-Man Choi, 1B
Tommy Pham, LF
Austin Meadows, RF
Matt Duffy, 3B
Kevin Kiermaier, CF
Jesus Aguilar, DH
Eric Sogard, 2B
Mike Zunino, C
Will Adames, SS
Brendan McKay, LHP (1-1, 3.72 ERA)
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