The Boston Red Sox hope consistency helps maintain their advantage over the Tampa Bay Rays.
The eight position players and one designated hitter Alex Cora deploys for Wednesday's tilt is the same group that started Boston's 9-5 win over Tampa on Tuesday night. Boston's victory increased its lead over Tampa atop the American League East Division standings to 1.5 games, and extended the Sox's winning streak against the Rays to five games, dating back to last season.
Center fielder Danny Santana leads off, with left fielder Alex Verdugo and designated hitter J.D. Martinez following him in the lineup. Shortstop Xander Bogaerts and third baseman Rafael Devers -- who hit the game-winning double Tuesday -- bat fourth and fifth, respectively. Right fielder Hunter Renfroe bats sixth, catcher Christian Vázquez is seventh. Second baseman Kiké Hernández and first baseman Bobby Dalbec round out the order, batting eighth and ninth, respectively.
Garrett Richards is the Red Sox starting pitcher. He has a 7.71 ERA in his last two starts and is keen to rediscover his earlier-season form, in which he posted a 3.07 ERA over his previous five starts.
NESN will air Red Sox-Rays in full, with pregame coverage starting at 6 p.m. ET. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 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.
Here are the lineups for Wednesday's Red Sox-Rays game.
RED SOX (44-29)
Danny Santana, CF
Alex Verdugo, LF
J.D. Martinez, DH
Xander Bogaerts, SS
Rafael Devers, 3B
Hunter Renfroe, RF
Christian Vázquez, C
Kiké Hernández, 2B
Bobby Dalbec, 1B
Garrett Richards, RHP (4-4, 4.36 ERA)
RAYS (43-31)
Brandon Lowe, RF
Ji-Man Choi, 1B
Wander Franco, 3B
Austin Meadows, DH
Randy Arozarena, LF
Joey Wendle, 2B
Manuel Margot, CF
Taylor Walls, SS
Mike Zunino, C
Rich Hill, LHP (5-2, 3.64 ERA)
