Red Sox Vs. Blue Jays Lineups: Xander Bogaerts Scratched From Series Opener

UPDATE: Xander Bogaerts originally was supposed to start at shortstop for the Red Sox on Friday night, but he has been scratched and replaced by Marwin Gonzalez.

Boston’s lineup now looks as follows:

Kiké Hernández, CF
Alex Verdugo, LF
J.D. Martinez, DH
Rafael Devers, 3B
Hunter Renfroe, RF
Christian Vázquez, C
Christian Arroyo, 2B
Marwin Gonzalez, SS
Bobby Dalbec, 1B

Garrett Richards, RHP (4-4, 3.88 ERA)

ORIGINAL STORY: The Boston Red Sox hope lineup consistency will continue to bear fruit against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora names an unchanged lineup for Friday’s series-opening matchup with the Toronto Blue Jays. Boston beat the Houston Astros 12-8 on Thursday at Fenway Park behind strong performances from players throughout the lineup. The Red Sox are 15-3 in their last 18 games against AL East teams and are determined to improve that impressive record.

Center fielder Kiké Hernández and left fielder Alex Verdugo continue atop Boston’s batting order. Designated hitter J.D. Martinez, shortstop Xander Bogaerts and third baseman Rafael Devers form the heart of the batting order.

Right fielder Hunter Renfroe bats sixth, catcher Christian Vázquez bats seventh, second baseman Christian Arroyo bats eighth, and first baseman Bobby Dalbec rounds out the batting order in the No. 9 spot.

Garrett Richards is Boston’s starting pitcher. He looks to continue pitching well, having allowed two or fewer earned runs in his last seven starts.

Here are the lineups for Friday’s Red Sox-Blue Jays game. NESN will air the game in full, with pregame coverage starting at 5:30 p.m. ET. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m., and postgame coverage immediately will follow the final out.

RED SOX (37-25)
Kiké Hernández, CF
Alex Verdugo, LF
J.D. Martinez, DH
Xander Bogaerts, SS
Rafael Devers, 3B
Hunter Renfroe, RF
Christian Vázquez, C
Christian Arroyo, 2B
Bobby Dalbec, 1B

Garrett Richards, RHP (4-4, 3.88 ERA)

BLUE JAYS (31-29)
Marcus Semien, 2B
Bo Bichette, SS
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., DH
Teoscar Hernandez, RF
Randal Grichuk, CF
Rowdy Tellez, 1B
Lourdes Gurriel Jr., LF
Cavan Biggio, 3B
Reese McGuire, C

Ross Stripling, RHP (2-3, 4.71 ERA)