Red Sox vs. Orioles lineups: Porcello aims for a three-game lead

The Sox already have some good news on the day, as the Blue Jays dropped the rubber match of their series against Tampa Bay by a wide margin. That means if the Sox can win their own against the Orioles, they’ll head into their series against New York with three full games of padding between them and the competition.

There’s still no Andrew Benintendi to be found in the lineup, but that’s not all that surprising. Benintendi was likely only activated yesterday because of Brock Holt’s sore shoulder, making today the day he likely would’ve been available had that never come up. Given that the Sox don’t tend to put guys in the lineup immediately upon activation, and that Chris Young is an excellent alternative, it makes sense that they’re waiting at least one more day.

With an otherwise standard lineup, though, the Sox will be trying to give Rick Porcello more run support than they did Drew Pomeranz. Granted, Pomeranz would’ve put them in a bad hole barring all but the most ridiculous of starts, but given how the bullpen held on, Tuesday’s game was very winnable indeed. Hopefully Porcello can spell the pen save for the few guys who were held in reserve for today—Ziegler, Kimbrel, and perhaps Koji to be precise—and the Sox can get him to win #21.

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