Red Sox Vs. Rangers Lineups: Connor Wong Gets Nod At First

The Red Sox got off to an explosive start at Globe Life Field, and they’ll look for their third win in a row when they face off against the Rangers on Saturday.

Boston hit three home runs in its 11-6 win over Texas. Alex Cora’s side kept within distance of the final American League wild-card spot, and the Red Sox will turn to their ace Tanner Houck to help keep their run going.

The Rangers will trot left-hander Cody Bradford in the middle matchup of the series, and Boston will get creative with its lineup. Rob Refsnyder and Ceddanne Rafaela will get the nods in the outfield with Rafaela patrolling center field and Jarren Duran shifting to left field. After his MLB debut, Nick Sogard starts again and will move to shortstop with Romy González out at second base. And the most notable change is Connor Wong starting at first base for the first time in his MLB career — the 28-year-old has shifted to first base six times this season — with Danny Jansen getting the nod at catcher.

First pitch for Red Sox-Rangers is scheduled at 7:05 p.m. ET, and you can catch full coverage on NESN starting at 6 p.m.

Here are the lineups for Boston and Texas:

BOSTON RED SOX (58-50)
Jarren Duran, LF
Rob Refsnyder, RF
Romy González, 2B
Rafael Devers, 3B
Connor Wong, 1B
Masataka Yoshida, DH
Danny Jansen, C
Nick Sogard, SS
Ceddanne Rafaela, CF

Tanner Houck, RHP (8-7, 2.79 ERA)

TEXAS RANGERS (52-58)
Josh Smith, DH
Corey Seager, SS
Marcus Semien, 2B
Nathaniel Lowe, 1B
Adolis García, RF
Josh Jung, 3B
Ezequiel Duran, LF
Jonah Heim, C
Leody Taveras, CF

Cody Bradford, LHP (3-0, 3.38 ERA)