The winner of the three-game series between the Boston Red Sox and the Kansas City Royals will be decided Sunday afternoon at Fenway Park.
With a left-hander on the hill for the visitors, two Boston lineup regulars will start the matinee matchup on the bench. The ever-versatile Christian Arroyo will start at first base in place of top prospect Triston Casas, while Rob Refsnyder will take Alex Verdugo’s usual spot in right field. Refsnyder and Arroyo will hit fifth and sixth in the Red Sox batting order for the series finale, respectively.
Newcomer Yu Chang, who made his Red Sox debut in Saturday’s blowout loss, will stay in the starting nine and bat eighth. Chang will play to the left of starting shortstop Xander Bogaerts, who returns to action Sunday after sitting out the middle game.
Nick Pivetta will try to send Boston into its Monday off day with a victory. The veteran right-hander turned in a so-so performance against the Royals on Aug. 4, allowing three earned runs on seven hits over five innings. Should the seventh-year pro come out on top Sunday, it will mark the first time in his Major League Baseball career that he’s earned double-digit wins in a season.
Pivetta will be opposed by Kris Bubic, who is one of three American League pitchers with 12-plus losses on his record as we enter the final few weeks of the regular season.
Here are the full lineups for Sunday’s Red Sox-Royals game:
RED SOX (70-75)
Tommy Pham, LF
Rafael Devers, 3B
Xander Bogaerts, SS
J.D. Martinez, DH
Rob Refsnyder, RF
Christian Arroyo, 1B
Kiké Hernández, CF
Yu Chang, 2B
Reese McGuire, C
Nick Pivetta, RHP (9-11, 4.31 ERA)
ROYALS (58-88)
MJ Melendez, CF
Bobby Witt, SS
Salvador Pérez, DH
Vinnie Pasquantino, 1B
Edward Olivares, LF
Michael Massey, 2B
Nate Eaton, 3B
Drew Waters, CF
Kyle Isbel, RF
Kris Bubic, LHP (2-12, 5.55 ERA)
