Red Sox Vs. Royals Lineups: Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu Sit For Opener

The Boston Red Sox begin their September slate Friday night against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium.

The three-game series in Kansas City should offer the Red Sox some relief after 10 consecutive games against the Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers, two of the best teams in Major League Baseball. The Royals have the second-worst record in MLB, ahead of only the Oakland Athletics.

Nothing is coming easy for the Red Sox these days, though. So, they definitely can’t expect wins to just fall into their laps despite the Royals’ season-long struggles. Boston went 13-15 in August, which includes a four-game losing streak at Fenway Park to close out the month.

James Paxton will take the ball for Boston in Friday night’s series opener. He’s had a solid year since returning from the injured list in May but might be starting to wear down. Paxton, who made just six starts (21 2/3 innings) between 2020 and 2022, allowed 10 earned runs on 13 hits over 8 1/3 innings in his last two outings.

Alex Verdugo will lead off for the Red Sox on Friday against right-hander Jordan Lyles, who’s had an abysmal season for the Royals. Verdugo will be joined in the outfield by Adam Duvall and Masataka Yoshida.

Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu — two prospects who recently joined Boston — will begin the game on the bench.

Luis Urías will play second base alongside shortstop Trevor Story.

Friday night’s first pitch is scheduled for 8:10 p.m. ET, and you can catch all the action on NESN beginning with an hour of pregame coverage.

Here are the full lineups for Red Sox vs. Royals:

BOSTON RED SOX (69-65)
Alex Verdugo, RF
Rafael Devers, 3B
Justin Turner, DH
Triston Casas, 1B
Adam Duvall, CF
Masataka Yoshida, LF
Trevor Story, SS
Luis Urías, 2B
Connor Wong, C

James Paxton, LHP (7-4, 3.99 ERA)

KANSAS CITY ROYALS (41-94)
Maikel Garcia, 3B
Bobby Witt Jr., SS
Salvador Perez, 1B
Michael Massey, 2B
Freddy Fermin, C
Nelson Velázquez, LF
Drew Waters, RF
Nick Loftin, DH
Kyle Isbel, CF

Jordan Lyles, RHP (3-15, 6.51 ERA)