While the 732 days of waiting must have been the hardest part for Chris Sale, his fun is set to begin anew when the Red Sox face the Orioles.
The Boston ace will take the mound for the Red Sox for the first time since 2019 on Saturday at Fenway Park. Sale hopes to earn a win and help Boston to its second victory in as many days over Baltimore. Doing so would represent a story-book comeback for Sale, who underwent Tommy John surgery last year and has worked diligently to return to action.
Elsewhere in the Red Sox lineup, J.D. Martinez returns from an off day to replace Kyle Schwarber. Martinez is the designated hitter and bats fifth. His return moves Hunter Renfroe to the No. 6 spot.
The Red Sox reinstated Christian Vázquez from the bereavement list Saturday. He's the starting catcher and bats eighth.
Boston batters initially will face Orioles starting pitcher Jorge López.
NESN will air full coverage of Red Sox versus Orioles. Pregame coverage starts at 3 p.m. ET. First pitch is scheduled for 4:10 p.m., and postgame coverage immediately will follow the final out. On the go? Stream full coverage of the game online at Watch NESN Live.
Here are the full lineups for Saturday's Red Sox-Orioles game.
BOSTON RED SOX (67-51)
Kiké Hernández, 2B
Alex Verdugo, LF
Xander Bogaerts, SS
Rafael Devers, 3B
J.D. Martinez, DH
Hunter Renfroe, RF
Jarren Duran, CF
Christian Vázquez, C
Bobby Dalbec, 1B
Chris Sale, LHP (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
BALTIMORE ORIOLES (38-76)
Austin Hays, RF
Trey Mancini, 1B
Pedro Severino, DH
Anthony Santander, LF
Ryan McKenna, CF
Maikel Franco, 3B
Jorge Mateo, 2B
Richie Martin, SS
Austin Wynns, C
Jorge López, RHP (3-12, 5.75 ERA)
