Having stopped their longest skid of the season, the Boston Red Sox can launch another winning streak by beating the Detroit Tigers again.
The teams will meet Thursday afternoon at Comerica Park in the final matchup of their three-game series. Detroit won the opener, but Boston bounced back Wednesday night, earning what pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez called a “huge win,” which ended the Red Sox’s losing streak at five games.
With a series win at stake, Red Sox manager Alex Cora returns Bobby Dalbec and Marwin Gonzalez to the starting lineup for Thursday’s game. Dalbec will play first base and bat eighth in his first start since Sunday, and Gonzalez returns from an off day to play second base and bat ninth.
Gonzalez’s return means leadoff hitter Kiké Hernández goes back to center field after he played his previous two games at second base. Jarren Duran will begin the game on the bench.
Third baseman Rafael Devers is back in the No. 2 spot, where he has batted in three of the last four games. Designated hitter J.D. Martinez and shortstop Xander Bogaerts swap places in the batting order, with the former hitting third and the latter fourth for the first time since Sunday.
Right fielder Hunter Renfroe and left fielder Alex Verdugo bat fifth and seventh, respectively, and join Hernández in the outfield.
Kevin Plawecki starts at catcher for the first time since last Wednesday.
MartÃn Pérez starts on the mound for Boston. He’s 0-3 with a 7.64 ERA in his last four starts.
Tarik Skubal is Detroit’s starting pitcher.
NESN will air full coverage of Red Sox-Tigers. Pregame coverage starts at noon ET. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 p.m, and postgame coverage immediately will follow the final out. If you’re on the go and not near a television, you still can live stream full coverage of the game online at Watch NESN Live.
Here are the starting lineups for Thursday’s Red Sox vs. Tigers game.
RED SOX (64-45)
Kiké Hernández, CF
Rafael Devers, 3B
J.D. Martinez, DH
Xander Bogaerts, SS
Hunter Renfroe, RF
Kevin Plawecki, C
Alex Verdugo, LF
Bobby Dalbec, 1B
Marwin Gonzalez, 2B
MartÃn Pérez, LHP (7-7, 4.56 ERA)
TIGERS (52-58)
Robbie Grossman, LF
Jonathan Schoop, 1B
Miguel Cabrera, DH
Eric Haase, C
Jeimer Candelario, 3B
Victor Reyes, RF
Zack Short, SS
Willi Castro, 2B
Derek Hill, CF
Tarik Skubal, LHP (6-10, 4.53 ERA)
