Red Sox vs. Orioles lineups: Kyle Kendrick’s on the bump

Just a few days ago, this series finale between the Red Sox and Orioles was expected to pit Steven Wright against Ubaldo Jimenez. Oh, how things have changed. Wright was placed on the disabled list earlier in the week, and just earlier today we learned that he’d be undergoing knee surgery that will keep him out for the rest of the season. Meanwhile, after Kevin Gausman’s ejection last night Jimenez was forced to pitch a few innings for Baltimore, keeping him out of Thursday night’s game.

As a result, we are getting Kyle Kendrick against Tyler Wilson. Kendrick, of course, was the darling of spring training. A minor-league signing, he put in the best performance of any Red Sox pitcher in camp. Despite that, he also has a long track record in the majors of being mediocre at best. I’m not hugely optimistic about Kendrick, but I just keep reminding myself that I said the same about Rich Hill.

Wilson is a quad-A arm who threw 96 innings in the majors last season, splitting time between the rotation and the bullpen. He doesn’t strike many batters out, has roughly average control and gives up a bunch of home runs. We’ve discussed how the Red Sox offense has sputtered a bit partially because of the competition they’ve faced. That will not be an excuse tonight.

Speaking of the offense, Josh Rutledge will unsurprisingly get the start after Marco Hernandez was placed on the disabled list with a shoulder injury. The rest of the lineups are as follows.