Red Sox Vs. Phillies Lineups: Alex Cora Sticks With Familiar Group For Series Opener

Will home comforts and a familiar look help the Boston Red Sox stop their skid when they face the Philadelphia Phillies?

Red Sox manager Alex Cora named an unchanged lineup for Friday’s matchup at Fenway Park. The lineup Boston will use against Philadelphia is the same one he deployed Wednesday afternoon in the 5-4 loss to the Los Angeles Angeles. The Red Sox have lost two consecutive games, but still are tied for the most wins in Major League Baseball and the best record in the American League.

Center fielder Kiké Hernández leads off for Boston, and left fielder Alex Verdugo follows him. Designated hitter J.D. Martinez, shortstop Xander Bogaerts and third baseman Rafael Devers comprise the heart of Boston’s batting order. Right fielder Hunter Renfroe bats sixth.

Cora has done plenty of platooning this year, but Christian Arroyo continues at second base and in the seventh spot. Catcher Christian Vázquez bats eighth, and first baseman Bobby Dalbec is ninth.

The Red Sox defense has played superbly lately, having gone five games without being charged with an error. Boston’s outfield leads the majors with 28 assists, nine more than the next closest team.

Garrett Richards is the Red Sox starting pitcher. He’ll look to avoid a ninth consecutive start without a win, which would be the longest drought of his career.

Righty Vince Velasquez starts on the mound for the Phillies.

NESN will broadcast Red Sox-Phillies 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.

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 Friday’s Red Sox-Phillies game.

BOSTON RED SOX (54-34)
Kiké Hernández, CF
Alex Verdugo, LF
J.D. Martinez, DH
Xander Bogaerts, SS
Rafael Devers, 3B
Hunter Renfroe, RF
Christian Arroyo, 2B
Christian Vázquez, C
Bobby Dalbec, 1B

Garrett Richards, RHP (4-5, 4.88 ERA)

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES (42-43)
Jean Segura, 2B
J.T. Realmuto, C
Bryce Harper, DH
Andrew McCutchen, LF
Brad Miller, RF
Rhys Hoskins, 1B
Didi Gregorius, SS
Alec Bohm, 3B
Travis Jankowski, CF

Vince Velasquez, RHP (3-3, 4.50 ERA)