The Boston Red Sox are moving some pieces around with hopes of maintaining their edge against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora returns Kiké Hernández to center field for Wednesday night’s matchup against the Blue Jays. Hernández has started the last three games as an infielder but he’s back in center field and continues to lead off Boston’s batting order.
Danny Santana bats after Hernández. Santana mostly has batted toward the bottom of the order but moves up to the No. 2 spot and starts in field, instead of first base where he usually plays for Boston. With Hernández and Santana in the outfield, Jarren Duran and Alex Verdugo start on the bench.
The heart of the Red Sox lineup remains reworked, with shortstop Xander Bogaerts, third baseman Rafael Devers and designated hitter J.D. Martinez batting third, fourth and fifth, respectively.
Right fielder Hunter Renfroe moves back to the sixth spot in the order from seventh, where he had batted in the previous two games.
Catcher Christian Vázquez returns to the seventh spot in Boston’s order for the first time since Saturday. First baseman Bobby Dalbec follows Vázquez in his return from two games on the bench. Michael Chavis starts for the first time since July 4, with Cora pegging in the utility man at second base and ninth in the order.
Garrett Richards starts on the mound for the Red Sox. He was slated to pitch Tuesday night, but game was postponed due to rain in the Buffalo, N.Y., area.
NESN will air full coverage of Red Sox-Blue Jays. Pregame coverage starts at 6 p.m. ET. First pitch is scheduled for 7:07 p.m. ET, and postgame coverage immediately will follow the final out.
Remember, if you’re not near a TV, you can live stream full coverage of the game online at Watch NESN Live.
Here are the full lineups for Wednesday’s Red Sox-Blue Jays game.
RED SOX (57-38)
Kiké Hernández, CF
Danny Santana, LF
Xander Bogaerts, SS
Rafael Devers, 3B
J.D. Martinez, DH
Hunter Renfroe, RF
Christian Vázquez, C
Bobby Dalbec, 1B
Michael Chavis, 2B
Garrett Richards, RHP (5-5, 4.91)
BLUE JAYS (48-43)
We’ll share the Blue Jays lineup when they announce it.
Robbie Ray, LHP (8-4, 2.93 ERA)
