The Boston Red Sox will enter Saturday night's game with the ability to get a weight off their back that has put a damper on the entire season.
The Red Sox could capture their first series win against an American League East opponent with another victory against the New York Yankees.
The Red Sox enter Yankee Stadium coming off an 11-inning, 5-4 win in the first game of the series Friday night. While it must have felt good to win in such thrilling fashion, manager Alex Cora and company understand that winning a series against this 62-28, best-record-in-baseball Yankees team is a tall task.
Nick Pivetta will toe the rubber for Boston. The right-hander had the best two-month stretch of his career from May through June, but has come back down to earth as of late. He'll need to harness his peak abilities to keep the powerful Yankees' lineup in check.
Jarren Duran will lead off in the series opener, replacing Rob Refsnyder as the Red Sox face right-hander Jameson Taillon. It appears that Cora is developing a platoon between the duo with Duran being moved to the corner outfield spot. Franchy Cordero will replace Bobby Dalbec in the well-established platoon at first base.
Trevor Story remains out of the Red Sox lineup after being hit on the hand by a pitch in Tuesday night's game against the Rays at Tropicana Field. Jeter Downs draws the start at second base and will bat ninth.
Xander Bogaerts and J.D. Martinez will be switching spots, as Bogey moves up to the No. 3 spot and Martinez drops to No. 4. With Martinez's struggles at the dish as of late, it makes sense to have Bogaerts constantly putting the ball in play at the most coveted spot in the order. Neither are showcasing much power, so that aspect is a wash.
First pitch from Yankee Stadium is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. ET. Saturday’s game can be found on FOX.
The full lineups for Friday night's Red Sox vs. Yankees game are below.
BOSTON RED SOX (48-43)
Jarren Duran, RF
Rafael Devers, 3B
Xander Bogaerts, SS
J.D. Martinez, DH
Alex Verdugo, LF
Christian Vázquez, C
Franchy Cordero, 1B
Jackie Bradley Jr., CF
Jeter Downs, 2B
Nick Pivetta, RHP (8-6, 4.08 ERA)
NEW YORK YANKEES (62-28)
DJ LeMahieu, 2B
Aaron Judge, CF
Anthony Rizzo, 1B
Giancarlo Stanton, DH
Josh Donaldson, 3B
Matt Carpenter, DH
Aaron Hicks, LF
Isiah Kiner-Falefa, SS
Jose Trevino, C
Jameson Taillon, RHP (9-2, 4.01 ERA)
