For a sixth straight game, the Boston Red Sox will be without Mookie Betts.
The star outfielder remains inactive as he battles tightness in his side. Elsewhere on the injury front, Dustin Pedroia, who was a late lineup scratch for Thursday’s series opener against the Houston Astros, also will miss Friday’s contest at Minute Maid Park as he deals with soreness in his left knee.
With Betts and Pedroia out of the fold, J.D. Martinez will get the nod in right field, while Brock Holt plays second base and bats seventh. Eduardo Nunez will return for the second contest of the four-game set as the designated hitter in the six hole.
As for the pitching matchup, Chris Sale will square off against the current American League leader in strikeouts, Gerrit Cole. The Red Sox ace is coming off his worst outing of the season in which he allowed six runs over 4 1/3 innings against the Atlanta Braves. Cole, on the other hand, hasn’t taken a loss since April 23.
Here are the full lineups for Friday’s Red Sox-Astros game:
RED SOX (39-18)
Andrew Benintendi, LF
Xander Bogaerts, SS
Mitch Moreland, 1B
J.D. Martinez, RF
Rafael Devers, 3B
Eduardo Nunez, DH
Brock Holt, 2B
Sandy Leon, C
Jackie Bradley Jr., CF
Chris Sale, LHP (5-2, 2.76 ERA)
ASTROS (36-22)
George Springer, RF
Alex Bregman, 3B
Jose Altuve, 2B
Carlos Correa, SS
Yuli Gurriel, 1B
Evan Gattis, DH
Max Stassi, C
J.D. Davis, LF
Jake Marisnick, CF
Gerrit Cole, RHP (5-1, 2.05 ERA)
