If Marwin Gonzalez breaks out of a funk at the plate, the Boston Red Sox might benefit against the Atlanta Braves.
The utility man returns to the starting lineup as the Red Sox second baseman and leadoff hitter for Wednesday night’s game against the Braves. Gonzalez is batting just .196 but he went 2-for-3 on Monday in his last start. He replaces Kiké Hernández in the field and in the batting order.
Joining Gonzalez in Boston’s infield are shortstop Xander Bogaerts, who bats fourth; third baseman Rafael Devers, who bats fifth and first baseman Bobby Dalbec, who continues in the eighth spot.
For the second consecutive game, Boston’s outfield consists of center fielder Alex Verdugo, left fielder J.D. Martinez and right fielder Hunter Renfroe, who bat second, third and sixth, respectively.
Christian Vázquez is Boston’s catcher, and Garrett Richards is the starting pitcher. Richards has a 3.36 ERA in his last nine starts.
Right-handed pitcher Tucker Davidson starts on mound for the Braves.
Here are the lineups for Wednesday’s Red Sox-Braves game.
NESN will air the game in full, with pregame coverage starting at 6 p.m. ET. First pitch is scheduled for 7:20 p.m., and postgame coverage immediately will follow the final out. If you’re not near a TV, you can live stream full coverage of the game online at Watch NESN Live.
RED SOX (40-27)
Marwin Gonzalez, 2B
Alex Verdugo, CF
J.D. Martinez, LF
Xander Bogaerts, SS
Rafael Devers, 3B
Hunter Renfroe, RF
Christian Vázquez, C
Bobby Dalbec, 1B
Garrett Richards, P
Garrett Richards, RHP (4-4 4.09 ERA)
BRAVES (30-34)
Ronald Acuña Jr., RF
Freddie Freeman, 1B
Ozzie Albies, 2B
Abraham Almonte, LF
Austin Riley, 3B
Dansby Swanson, SS
Kevan Smith, C
Guillermo Heredia, CF
Ian Anderson, P
Tucker Davidson, RHP (4-3, 3.26 ERA)
