The Boston Red Sox will look to salvage a victory in their series finale with the Chicago Cubs on Sunday afternoon at Wrigley Field, after squandering ideal circumstances in their series-clinching loss Saturday.
Cubs starter Alec Mills only recorded one out before Mark Leiter Jr. was forced to come on in emergency relief, while rookie Josh Winckowski — who allowed two runs on six hits in six innings of work — continued to be superb in his extended opportunity as a member of Boston’s rotation. Despite that, the Red Sox offense produced just one run, looking sluggish at the plate all day.
When it comes to the lineups, manager Alex Cora will give rest to a pair of Boston’s stars, with J.D. Martinez and Trevor Story each getting the day off. Christian Arroyo and Rob Refsnyder will slot in to replace Martinez and Story, who are a combined 2-for-15 with eight strikeouts in the series. Christian Vázquez will return to the lineup following a day of rest, while Bobby Dalbec will get the start with Jackie Bradley Jr. headed to the bench. Connor Seabold will make his second start of the season against Keegan Thompson, who has 63 strikeouts in 67 1/3 innings for the Cubs.
First pitch from Wrigley Field is scheduled for 2:20 p.m. ET, and pregame coverage on NESN begins at 1:30 p.m. with “Red Sox First Pitch Live” followed by “Red Sox Gameday Live.”
Here are the full lineups for Sunday’s Red Sox-Cubs game:
BOSTON RED SOX (43-35)
Jarren Duran, CF
Rafael Devers, 3B
Xander Bogaerts, SS
Alex Verdugo, LF
Christian Vázquez, C
Rob Refsnyder, RF
Franchy Cordero, DH
Bobby Dalbec, 1B
Christian Arroyo, 2B
Connor Seabold, RHP (0-1, 13.50 ERA)
CHICAGO CUBS (32-46)
Rafael Ortega, CF
Wilson Contreras, DH
Ian Happ, LF
Patrick Wisdom, 3B
Nico Hoerner, SS
P.J. Higgins, C
Alfonso Rivas, 1B
Nelson Velazquez, RF
Christopher Morel, 2B
Keegan Thompson, RHP (7-3, 3.34 ERA)
