The Boston Red Sox will open their weekend series against the New York Yankees with most of their regular starting lineup intact.
The last series of the regular season means nothing to the Boston Red Sox. At least not in terms of playoff seeding. Boston already has the best record in baseball wrapped up and are merely playing out the string until the postseason begins. That’s not the case for a New York Yankees team fighting for home-field advantage in the Wild Card game. That may explain why the Red Sox are treating the start of this series as if it matters.
The Red Sox will roll out a familiar lineup Friday night when they host the Yankees at Fenway Park.
Friday at Fenway vs. NYY. Betts CF, Benintendi LF, Martinez RF, Bogaerts SS, Pearce 1B, Devers 3B, Núñez DH, Kinsler 2B, Swihart C, Johnson LHP.
— Ian Browne (@IanMBrowne) September 28, 2018
The top of the order has no surprises. Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi, and J.D. Martinez occupy the first three spots in the lineup. Xander Bogaerts will follow in the cleanup spot, ensuring that the team’s top four hitters receive the most opportunities for plate appearances.
Steve Pearce gets the nod at first base tonight in place of Mitch Moreland, although that’s not all that surprising given the Yankees will send lefty J.A. Happ to the mound. Facing a southpaw hasn’t pushed the hot-hitting Rafael Devers down the order. He’s hitting sixth tonight.
The outfield alignment has been shuffled for the night with Betts moving to center field and Martinez filling in as the right fielder. This allows Eduardo Nunez, who has been dealing with a hamstring injury, to serve as the designated hitter. The move pushes Jackie Bradley to the bench to begin the game but we could always see him as a late-inning defensive replacement.
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Ian Kinsler has been scuffling this month, hitting only .200 with a .491 OPS in September. His glove remains valuable enough at second base to warrant his spot in the lineup but he’ll be buried near the bottom in the No. 8 spot.
The catcher position has rotated through a trio of options all month as the team looks to split the workload down the stretch. It’s Blake Swihart’s turn tonight with Brian Johnson on the hill. The battery mates have some previous experience together in Triple-A Pawtucket.
Using most of their regular position players shows the Red Sox aren’t willing to simply roll over and let their rivals coast to home-field advantage. The Yankees have a two-game lead over the Oakland A’s for the top Wild Card spot with three games remaining. They split their six head-to-head games this season but New York holds the tiebreaker due to a superior divisional record. The Yankees only need one more win or an Oakland loss to ensure the Wild Card game is played in the Bronx.
It seems unlikely that the Red Sox will sweep the series given that there is far less on the line for them. However, it’s good to see that they at least appear to be trying by using their star players tonight. If the Yankees are going to clinch to top Wild Card spot, at least try to make them sweat it out a bit longer. Besides, laying down to let the Yankees cruise to that spot would set the Red Sox up for some bad karma if they end up facing Oakland in the ALDS.