It’s time for the Boston Red Sox to turn the page on all the Laz DÃaz drama and try to push the Houston Astros to the brink of elimination.
The American League Championship Series has reached its most pivotal game yet. Game 5 will be played Wednesday afternoon at Fenway Park, and with the series tied at two games apiece, the winner will head back to Minute Maid Park just one win away from the World Series.
Boston will keep largely the same personnel but will make some tweaks from Game 4. It’s the same lineup they used against Framber Valdez in Game 1, with Kiké Hernández leading off and Kyle Schwarber hitting second.
Christian Vázquez and Christian Arroyo will swap spots at the bottom of the order. The middle of the lineup also is shuffled, with J.D. Martinez hitting fifth, Hunter Renfroe sixth and Alex Verdugo seventh.
The only change to the Astros lineup will be Jose Siri batting eighth and playing center in place of Chas McCormick.
Chris Sale will be on the mound for the Red Sox, opposing Valdez.
First pitch from Fenway is set for 5:08 p.m. ET. NESN will have pregame coverage beginning at 4, with postgame coverage beginning immediately after the final out.
Here are the lineups for Game 5 of the ALCS:
RED SOX (2-2)
Kiké Hernández, CF
Kyle Schwarber, 1B
Xander Bogaerts, SS
Rafael Devers, 3B
J.D. Martinez, DH
Hunter Renfroe, RF
Alex Verdugo, LF
Christian Arroyo, 2B
Christian Vázquez, C
Chris Sale, LHP (3-1, 3.16 ERA in regular season)
ASTROS (2-2)
Jose Altuve, 2B
Michael Brantley, LF
Alex Bregman, 3B
Yordan Alvarez, DH
Carlos Correa, SS
Kyle Tucker, RF
Yuli Gurriel , 1B
Jose Siri, CF
MartÃn Maldonado, C
Framber Valdez, LHP (11-6, 3.14 ERA)
