Is Danny Santana the wild card the Red Sox need to overcome the Astros?
Red Sox manager Alex Cora reinserts Santana into the lineup for Wednesday night’s matchup at Fenway Park. Santana hasn’t played since Sunday, and his break has included Tuesday’s 7-1 loss to Houston, which snapped Boston’s winning streak at five games.
Santana on Wednesday will lead off and play first base. Rafael Devers plays third base and bats second. Xander Bogaerts has a night off from shortstop duties, is the designated hitter and bats fourth. Marwin Gonzalez spells Bogaerts at shortstop and bats sixth. Second baseman Christian Arroyo rounds out Boston’s infield and he drops from the leadoff spot to seventh in the batting order.
J.D. Martinez will play left field and bat third. Right fielder Hunter Renfroe bats fifth, and center fielder Kiké Hernández bats ninth.
Christian Vázquez returns to the starting lineup, having played much of Tuesday’s game after Kevin Plawecki left due to a jaw contusion.
Vázquez will catch Red Sox starter Nathan Eovaldi, who has won his last three starts and last four decisions.
Houston counters with struggling righty Jake Odorizzi.
Here are the lineups for Wednesday’s Red Sox-Astros game.
RED SOX (37-24)
Danny Santana, 1B
Rafael Devers, 3B
J.D. Martinez, LF
Xander Bogaerts, DH
Hunter Renfroe, RF
Marwin Gonzalez, SS
Christian Arroyo, 2B
Christian Vázquez, C
Kiké Hernández, CF
Nathan Eovaldi, RHP (7-2, 3.78 ERA)
ASTROS (34-26)
Jose Altuve, 2B
Carlos Correa, SS
Alex Bregman, 3B
Yordan Alvarez, LF
Yuli Gurriel, 1B
Michael Brantley, DH
Kyle Tucker, RF
Myles Straw, CF
Garrett Stubbs, C
Jake Odorizzi, RHP (0-3, 7.16 ERA)
