The Boston Red Sox are giving struggling shortstop Xander Bogaerts a breather in the finale of their series in Baltimore against the Orioles.
The shortstop for the Boston Red Sox will be batting second in the lineup tonight, per usual. Only this time his name isn’t Xander Bogaerts.
The 23-year old shortstop is getting a rare night off on Thursday when the Red Sox aim to cap off a four-game sweep of the Baltimore Orioles. Bogaerts has struggled of late following an All-Star first half, hitting .220/.289/.351 since August 1.
At one point Bogaerts was a strong contender for the batting title, but his slump has caused his average to plummet from .333 in late July to .295 nearly two months later. He hasn’t been out of the lineup since August 14, so a night off to recharge his batteries and mentally regroup may be just what he needs to get back on track.
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In his place at shortstop and the No. 2 hole will be Brock Holt, who returns to the team after being away the last two days due to a death in the family. The versatile fielder has played five different positions this season, including four games at shortstop.
Holt also has 20 at bats in the No. 2 spot in the lineup this season, where he owns a .200/.200/.250 slash line. Overall this season he is hitting .258 with 7 home runs and 33 RBI in 85 games for the Red Sox. The homers are a career-high, but the rest of his numbers have dipped from his All-Star campaign a year ago.
Here’s what tonight’s Red Sox lineup looks like.
.@DAVIDprice24 and the #RedSox go for a 4-game sweep of the O’s tonight. https://t.co/3OFRlt4iCK pic.twitter.com/T5QLgSeY8W
— Red Sox (@RedSox) September 22, 2016
Also of note about today’s lineup is that manager John Farrell has swapped Mookie Betts and David Ortiz in the order. Betts has a mere 40 at-bats hitting third this season, but his .350 average and .966 OPS from that spot are the best that he has produced from anywhere in the lineup. Ortiz is of course intimately familiar with the cleanup spot, where he spent the bulk of the season prior to the decision to move Betts to the middle of the order.
Next: Red Sox win streak reaches 7 games
The Red Sox lead the AL East by five games over second place Toronto with only 10 games left to play, so expect them to rest a few of their star players down the stretch to keep everyone fresh for a postseason run.