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Red Sox vs. Orioles: Stephen Drew starts over Xander Bogaerts

Stephen Drew will start over Xander Bogaerts despite the presence of a tough lefty on the mound in the form of Wei-Yin Chen.

By Ben Buchanan
Jim Rogash

The saga continues: Stephen Drew will start over Xander Bogaerts Tuesday night despite the presence of tough lefty Wei-Yin Chen on the mound.

Boston Red Sox (77-55)

  1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
  2. Shane Victorino, RF
  3. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
  4. David Ortiz, DH
  5. Jonny Gomes, LF
  6. Mike Napoli, 1B
  7. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
  8. Stephen Drew, SS
  9. Will Middlebrooks, 3B

Starting Pitcher -- Felix Doubront

Baltimore Orioles (70-59)

  1. Brian Roberts, 2B
  2. Manny Machado, 3B
  3. Chris Davis, 1B
  4. Adam Jones, CF
  5. Nick Markakis, RF
  6. Matt Wieters, C
  7. J.J. Hardy, SS
  8. Danny Valencia, DH
  9. Steve Pearce, LF

Starting Pitcher -- Wei-Yin Chen

When John Farrell elected to play Drew over Bogaerts against lefties on the road trip, there were some explanations that could be made. There were a bunch of lefties coming up, this guy has reverse splits, etc. etc. etc. This time, however, it's harder to find a reason. Wei-Yin Chen is tough against lefties. Extraordinarily so. There are two right-handed pitchers coming up to close out the series. And if Tillman has reverse splits, well, matching Drew up against him and Bogaerts up against Chen still seems like the correct approach to take.

No, this feels way too much like a move based on roles. Drew is the starter, and so Bogaerts can't start in his place for two consecutive games. Hopefully the Red Sox do a number on Chen and Doubront produces a gem like he had against the Giants, but this really does feel like it's leaving value on the table.

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