Red Sox vs. Athletics lineups: Yoan Moncada starts

Yoan Moncada is in the starting lineup Saturday night, batting eighth and playing third against Daniel Mengden and the Oakland Athletics.

So Moncada is in the lineup but...honestly, should he be? Travis Shaw was crushing the ball last night, and if there's any chance of getting him going again, that's probably Boston's best bet going forward this year. Yes, Moncada is in the long-term plans completely irregardless of Shaw's success, but as a rookie who's only played in Double-A and had some strikeout issues there, Moncada will be hard-pressed to hit to the level Travis Shaw did between 2015 and early in 2016. Shaw has shown that's true for him as well, but again, why not at least see if his hand is hot to ride.

Well, perfect situation or not, Moncada is in the lineup, and batting eighth as the Sox try not to disrupt Bradley, who's hitting to a 1.017 OPS since being moved into the 9th spot. With the Red Sox tabbing Rick Porcello against the 5.73 ERA Daniel Mengden, and the season series having produced nothing but blowouts, they'll hopefully not have too much pressure on Moncada to hit, either. Though we might be in dangerous reverse-lock territory here.

First pitch is at 9:05 p.m. ET with broadcasts on NESN and WEEI.