The Boston Red Sox hope to reap the rewards against the New York Yankees by staying the course.
The Red Sox will trot out an unchanged lineup for Friday night’s matchup at Fenway Park. The contest will factor heavily in the American League Wild Card race, in which Boston, current owner of the first spot, leads second-place New York by 2 1/2 games. The Red Sox are riding a seven-game winning streak, so lineup consistency makes perfect sense.
Kiké Hernández leads off for Boston and plays center field. Kyle Schwarber bats second and plays first base, meaning Bobby Dalbec starts on the bench.
Shortstop Xander Bogaerts, third baseman Rafael Devers and designated hitter J.D. Martinez comprise the heart of Boston’s batting order.
Left fielder Alex Verdugo and right fielder Hunter Renfroe complete the Red Sox outfield and bat sixth and seventh, respectively.
Catcher Christian Vázquez bats eighth, and second baseman José Iglesias hits ninth.
Friday’s game might be a pitchers’ duel. Nathan Eovaldi starts for the Red Sox. The right-hander leads qualified AL pitchers in WAR at 5.5. He’ll oppose righty Gerrit Cole, who is second in WAR among AL pitchers at 5.3.
NESN will air the Red Sox-Yankees in full, with pregame coverage starting at 5:30 p.m. ET. First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 7:10 p.m., and postgame coverage immediately will follow the final out. On the go? Be sure to stream full coverage of the game online at Watch NESN Live.
Here are the teams’ full lineups:
BOSTON RED SOX (88-65)
Kiké Hernández, CF
Kyle Schwarber, DH
Xander Bogaerts, SS
Rafael Devers, 3B
J.D. Martinez, LF
Alex Verdugo, RF
Bobby Dalbec, 1B
Christian Vázquez, C
José Iglesias, 2B
Nathan Eovaldi, RHP (10-8, 3.58 ERA)
NEW YORK YANKEES (86-67)
DJ LeMahieu, 3B
Anthony Rizzo, 1B
Aaron Judge, RF
Giancarlo Stanton, DH
Joey Gallo, LF
Gleyber Torres, 2B
Gio Urshela, SS
Brett Gardner, CF
Kyle Higashioka, C
Gerrit Cole, RHP (15-8, 3.03 ERA)
