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Red Sox vs. Orioles lineups: Sox turn to Wright to force rubber match

The Sox need Steven Wright to give them a chance to win the series on Thursday, rather than just avoid a sweep.

Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

The Red Sox are out to force a rubber match in their series against the Orioles Wednesday night, and give themselves at least a chance to finish the series in first place in the AL East.


Lineup

BOSTON RED SOX BALTIMORE ORIOLES
Mookie Betts, RF Adam Jones, CF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B Hyun Soo Kim, LF
Xander Bogaerts, SS Manny Machado, SS
David Ortiz, DH Chris Davis, 1B
Hanley Ramirez, 1B Mark Trumbo, DH
Jackie Bradley Jr., CF Matt Wieters, C
Chris Young, LF Jonathan Schoop, 2B
Travis Shaw, 3B Joey Rickard, RF
Christian Vazquez, C Ryan Flaherty, 3B
Starting Pitcher -- Steven Wright Starting Pitcher -- Kevin Gausman

Tonight was supposed to be the easy night for the Red Sox, but the Orioles have flipped Kevin Gausman and Tyler Wilson in their rotation, and while that means that they face a tougher challenge tonight, it also probably gives them a better chance of actually coming away with the series win. It's a pretty aggressive move from the Orioles, but if Wright is even just a bit off his game, Kevin Gausman is certainly the guy who gives them the best chance to take advantage of that.

For the Red Sox, it's the same starting nine as we've grown used to. They'll just have to do better than they did against Tillman on Tuesday. The good news: while Gausman, like Tillman, is certainly a good pitcher, he doesn't quite have Tillman's preternatural ability to shut down the Red Sox like he's the second coming of Pedro Martinez. He's just...normal against them. And after Tuesday, the Sox will gladly take normal.

First pitch is at 7:10 p.m. ET with broadcasts on NESN, ESPN2, and WEEI.