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Game 40 vs. Mariners
| Lineup spot | Mariners | Red Sox |
|---|---|---|
| Lineup spot | Mariners | Red Sox |
| 1 | Mitch Haniger, CF | Andrew Benintendi, LF |
| 2 | J.P. Crawford, SS | Mookie Betts, RF |
| 3 | Edwin Encarnación, 1B | J.D. Martinez, DH |
| 4 | Daniel Vogelbach, DH | Mitch Moreland, 1B |
| 5 | Domingo Santana, LF | Xander Bogaerts, SS |
| 6 | Jay Bruce, RF | Rafael Devers, 3B |
| 7 | Omar Narváez, C | Michael Chavis, 2B |
| 8 | Ryon Healy, 3B | Jackie Bradley Jr., CF |
| 9 | Shed Long, 2B | Sandy León,C |
| SP | Felix Hernandez, RHP | Rick Porcello, RHP |
The Red Sox (20-19) are above .500. Hooray! A cool thing would be if they were still over .500 after today’s game and we could put the whole business in the rear-view mirror, but that’s up to Rock Porcello and the gang. The good news? They seem ready.
Porcello hasn’t had a bad start in a month, and the M’s (20-21) don’t look like a huge threat to the streak right now, but, you know, baseball gonna baseball. That said, things are unambiguously positive around the Sox right now and if you don’t feel good about today’s game you need a little more joy in your life, probably. Plus remember Sandy León is back to catch Porcello, which makes Porcello better. This is canon.
Felix Hernandez starts for the Mariners and while we like to make tease players on hard times we have nothing but respect for the king, save maybe the neck tattoo. That said, the last thing he wants to see is this Sox offense firing on all cylinders and he’s baseball-old but not that old, so his eyes still work, and well, he can see it coming and so can we. It could get late early this afternoon, and none of us would mind, except maybe Shed Long, who makes his first major league start today. Welcome to the show, kid! Don’t screw up! By all means, let your teammates show you how it’s done.