Red Sox Vs. Cubs Lineups: Tyler O’Neill Returns For Opener

The Red Sox on Friday look to rebound as they welcome the Cubs to Fenway Park for the first time in seven years.

Boston is coming off a 6-4 loss to the Guardians on Progressive Field on Thursday. The result meant the Red Sox lost the series to Cleveland, and they’ll face another tough challenge as Chicago enters Friday’s matchup second in the National League Central.

The Red Sox will get Tyler O’Neill back into the lineup after he took a day off Thursday. He’ll bat second behind Jarren Duran. Rafael Devers remains the designated hitter, and he’ll move to the clean-up spot behind Rob Refsnyder.

That means Masataka Yoshida sits out his fifth straight game, though he did pinch hit in Thursday’s matchup against the Guardians. Connor Wong rotates in at catch and will bat fifth in the order. Enmanuel Valdez will play second base in place of David Hamilton and will bat eighth in the order.

Kutter Crawford will look to get Boston back on track as he enters Friday with a 0.66 ERA. He’ll pitch opposite Shōta Imanaga, who the Red Sox reportedly expressed interest in last offseason and commands an impressive 0.84 ERA entering Friday night.

First pitch for Boston-Chicago at Fenway Park is scheduled at 7:10 p.m. ET, and you can catch full coverage on NESN starting with pregame at 5:30 p.m.

Here are the starting lineups for both sides.

BOSTON RED SOX (14-12)
Jarren Duran, CF
Tyler O’Neill, RF
Rob Refsnyder, LF
Rafael Devers, DH
Connor Wong, C
Pablo Reyes, 3B
Bobby Dalbec, 1B
Enmanuel Valdez, 2B
Ceddanne Rafaela, SS

Kutter Crawford, RHP (1-0, 0.66 ERA)

CHICAGO CUBS (16-9)
Nico Hoerner 2B
Mike Tauchman RF
Ian Happ LF
Christopher Morel 3B
Michael Busch 1B
Dansby Swanson SS
Matt Mervis DH
Miguel Amaya C
Pete Crow-Armstrong CF

Shōta Imanaga, LHP (3-0, 0.84 ERA)