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Red Sox at Orioles lineup: Will the bats wake up without Mookie?

The right fielder rests, while Baltimore’s superstar is back in the lineup.

MLB: Boston Red Sox at Baltimore Orioles
Hit the ball hard, X.
Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

The Red Sox (45-22) look to wake up the bats against the Orioles (19-46) tonight at Camden Yards (7:05 p.m., NESN) behind Eduardo Rodriguez (7-1, 3.68 ERA).

About tonight’s game: Would some offense be too much to ask for? The Sox look to bust through a mini-slump at the plate against David Hess (2-2, 3.07 ERA), though they won’t have Mookie Betts, who rests after his first game back off the DL. Somewhat oddly, Eduardo Núñez leads off — and DHes — and Andrew Benintendi stays in the 2-hole, despite the damage he did in the leadoff spot in Betts’s absence. On the Baltimore side, destroyer-of-worlds Manny Machado is back at short and in the cleanup spot for the Orioles.

About last night’s game: Steven Wright pitched a dandy, and the Sox held on to a 2-0 behind Craig Kimbrel. Read Matt’s recap here.

Forecast: 71 degrees and partly cloudy on the Inner Harbor.

Today’s reading: Matt totally stole* my idea and wrote about E-Rod’s love of 3-2 counts and whatnot.

* I might have decided to write about something else instead. Who can remember?

A good tweet from last night from our friend Craij:

LINEUPS

Game 68 vs. Orioles

Lineup Spot Red Sox Orioles
Lineup Spot Red Sox Orioles
1 Eduardo Núñez, DH Joey Rickard, RF
2 Andrew Benintendi, LF Adam Jones, CF
3 J.D. Martinez, RF Manny Machado, SS
4 Mitch Moreland, 1B Jonathan Schoop, 2B
5 Xander Bogaerts, SS Danny Valencia, 3B
6 Rafael Devers, 3B Trey Mancini, 1B
7 Brock Holt, 2B Mark Trumbo, DH
8 Christian Vazquez, C Craig Gentry, RF
9 Jackie Bradley Jr., CF Austin Wynns, C
SP Eduardo Rodriguez, LHP David Hess, RHP