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Reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Rick Porcello takes the mound tonight as the Red Sox (18-16) look to stay in the win column as they begin a three-game series against the Rays (17-20) at Fenway Park (7:10 p.m., NESN).
Porcello (3.95 ERA), no longer a ground ball pitcher, will use his more-than-one-strikeout-per-inning repertoire against a team that strikes out more than any other in baseball, by far. The Rays currently lead the majors with 374 K’s, a full 47 whiffs ahead of second-place Arizona. The oft-injured Boston native Alex Cobb (3.56 ERA) starts for Tampa Bay and, as usual, has been pretty effective when he has been able to take the mound.
Hanley Ramirez will sit out another game after suffering a muscle spasm in his shoulder on Wednesday. It didn’t stop him from throwing sunflower seeds at Guerin Austin during yesterday’s telecast, but the Sox would like to see him at least toss peach pits before putting him back at the plate. Chris Young will DH and hit fifth, ahead of Mitch Moreland, and the utterly unpredictable Jackie Bradley Jr. moves to ninth in the batting order, where his chaotic bat can do the most damage. Here are the full lineups:
Game 35, May 12, 2017 vs. Rays
Lineup Spot | Rays | Red Sox |
---|---|---|
Lineup Spot | Rays | Red Sox |
1 | Corey Dickerson, LF | Mookie Betts, RF |
2 | Brad Miller, 2B | Dustin Pedroia, 2B |
3 | Evan Longoria, 3B | Xander Bogaerts, SS |
4 | Logan Morrison, 1B | Andrew Benintendi, LF |
5 | Rickie Weeks, Jr., DH | Chris Young, DH |
6 | Colby Rasmus, RG | Mitch Moreland, 1B |
7 | Tim Beckham, SS | Josh Rutledge, 3B |
8 | Kevin Kiermaier, CF | Sandy Leon, C |
9 | Derrick Norris, C | Jackie Bradley Jr., CF |
SP | Alex Cobb, RHP | Rick Porcello, RHP |