The Red Sox offense exploded Friday night, so it comes as no surprise that they’re keeping their lineup almost exactly the same for the second consecutive game.
Boston only made one tweak for Sunday’s Game 3 at Fenway Park. Kevin Plawecki will draw back into the lineup to catch Nathan Eovaldi, as he’s done for the majority of the season. Plawecki will hit eighth in the batting order, the same slot fellow backstop Christian Vázquez held Game 2.
Eovaldi will be opposite Drew Rasmussen, who will be the third Rays rookie the Red Sox have seen in as many games. The right-hander made five appearances (three starts) against Boston in the regular season, racking up a 2.30 ERA over 15 2/3 total innings.
Here are the full lineups for Sunday’s Red Sox-Rays Game 3:
RED SOX (1-1)
Kyle Schwarber, 1B
Kiké Hernández, CF
Rafael Devers, 3B
Xander Bogaerts, SS
Alex Verdugo, LF
J.D. Martinez, DH
Hunter Renfroe, RF
Kevin Plawecki, C
Christian Arroyo, 2B
Nathan Eovaldi, RHP (Regular season: 11-9, 3.75 ERA)
RAYS (1-1)
Brandon Lowe, 2B
Wander Franco, SS
Austin Meadows, LF
Nelson Cruz, DH
Ji-Man Choi, 1B
Randy Arozarena, RF
Kevin Kiermaier, CF
Mike Zunino, C
Joey Wendle, 3B
Drew Rasmussen, RHP (Regular season: 4-1, 2.84 ERA)
