Christian Arroyo often has been a lightning strike for these 2021 Boston Red Sox, and they need him to provide a jolt in their effort to avoid getting swept by the New York Yankees.
After dropping the first two contests of their three-game set with the Yankees at Fenway Park, the Red Sox will put Arroyo in the lineup for Sunday’s series finale.
Arroyo, who got hit hard by COVID-19, has not started a game since Aug. 26. He has only appeared in the lineup once since getting activated, and that was Wednesday. The 26-year-old will hit seventh, replacing José Iglesias in the lineup.
There is a little shuffling elsewhere, as Alex Verdugo will return to the lineup, hitting eighth and playing in left field, while Kyle Schwarber will head to the bench. Christian Vázquez will be behind the plate in place of Kevin Plawecki.
Eduardo Rodriguez will be on the mound for the Red Sox. He’ll be opposed by Jordan Montgomery.
The Red Sox and Yankees hold the same record, so the winner of Sunday’s game will take possession of the first wild card spot in the American League.
Here are the lineups for Sunday’s Yankees-Red Sox game.
RED SOX (88-67)
Kiké Hernández, CF
Hunter Renfroe, RF
Rafael Devers, 3B
Xander Bogaerts, SS
J.D. Martinez, DH
Bobby Dalbec, 1B
Christian Arroyo, 2B
Alex Verdugo, LF
Kevin Plawecki, C
Eduardo Rodriguez, LHP (11-8, 4.97 ERA)
YANKEES (88-67)
DJ LeMahieu, 3B
Anthony Rizzo, 1B
Aaron Judge, RF
Giancarlo Stanton, DH
Joey Gallo, LF
Gleyber Torres, 2B
Gary Sanchez, C
Brett Gardner, CF
Gio Urshela, SS
Jordan Montgomery, LHP (6-6, 3.55)
