Red Sox Vs. Blue Jays Lineups: Rafael Devers, Alex Verdugo Sit For Opener

The Boston Red Sox will be without two of their top offensive players to begin Tuesday night’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park.

Rafael Devers and Alex Verdugo are out of the starting lineup as Boston kicks off a quick, two-game series with Toronto on the heels of a four-game set with the Chicago White Sox.

Devers and Verdugo, both left-handed hitters, have played in all 16 of Boston’s games to date but will sit as the Red Sox take their hacks against southpaw Hyun Jin Ryu.

The Red Sox just played three games in two days, including a doubleheader Sunday and an 11 a.m. ET start time Monday. They’ll host the Seattle Mariners for four games starting Thursday night.

J.D. Martinez will grab a glove and head to the outfield with Verdugo on the bench. He’ll start in left field, with Kiké Hernandez and Hunter Renfroe manning center field and right field, respectively.

The ultra versatile Marwin Gonzalez will start at third base in place of Devers one day after filling in at shortstop for Xander Bogaerts.

Christian Vazquez will draw the start behind the plate as Eduardo Rodriguez makes his first appearance at Fenway Park since 2019, though fellow catcher Kevin Plawecki will serve as the designated hitter.

Rodriguez missed all of 2020 due to myocarditis, a heart issue stemming from his bout with COVID-19. The lefty has made two starts so far this season — both on the road — and has allowed four earned runs over 10 innings with 12 strikeouts to one walk.

Here are the complete lineups for Tuesday’s Red Sox-Blue Jays game, which you can watch on NESN, with pregame coverage starting at 6 p.m. ET.

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Apr 20, 2021

RED SOX (11-6)
Enrique Hernandez, CF
Christian Arroyo, 2B
J.D. Martinez, LF
Xander Bogaerts, SS
Christian Vazquez, C
Marwin Gonzalez, 3B
Hunter Renfroe, RF
Bobby Dalbec, 1B
Kevin Plawecki, C

Eduardo Rodriguez, LHP (2-0, 3.60 ERA)

BLUE JAYS (7-9)
Marcus Semien, 2B
Bo Bichette, SS
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 1B
Randal Grichuk, CF
Lourdes Gurriel Jr., LF
Cavan Biggio, RF
Santiago Espinal, 3B
Alejandro Kirk, DH
Danny Jansen, C

Hyun Jin Ryu, LHP (1-1, 1.89 ERA)