J.D. Martinez will get the afternoon off
Can the Boston Red Sox make it 10 straight?
After losing the first three games of the season, the Sox have rattled off nine straight victories, and they’ll look to hit the double-digit mark Thursday afternoon in their series finale with the Minnesota Twins.
J.D. Martinez gets the afternoon off, with Franchy Cordero serving as the designated hitter and batting eighth. The red-hot Alex Verdugo will play left field, with Kiké Hernández in center and Hunter Renfroe in right.
Christian Arroyo replaced Marwin Gonzalez at second base, with the former beginning his day on the bench. Arroyo will hit sixth.
Christian Vazquez bats fifth and will catch Sox starter Garrett Richards, who will be opposed by Michael Pineda.
First pitch is set for 1:10 p.m. ET, and you watch on NESN.
Here are the lineups for Thursday’s Red Sox-Twins game.
RED SOX (9-3)
Kiké Hernández, CF
Alex Verdugo, LF
Xander Bogaerts, SS
Rafael Devers, 3B
Christian Vazquez, C
Christian Arroyo, 2B
Hunter Renfroe, RF
Franchy Cordero, DH
Bobby Dalbec 1B
Garrett Richards, RHP (0-1, 10.29 ERA)
TWINS (5-7)
Luis Arraez, 2B
Jorge Polanco, 2B
Nelson Cruz, DH
Max Kepler, RF
Willians Astudillo, 3B
Miguel Sano, 1B
Jake Cave, CF
Ryan Jeffers, C
JT Riddle, SS
Michael Pineda, RHP (1-0, 1.64 ERA)