Red Sox at Blue Jays Lineups: Spending the Fourth in Canada

The Red Sox are spending their Independence Day up in Canada north of the border, and get a night game on a day when many teams play in the afternoon. The time is less important than the results, though, and the Red Sox will be looking to take this rubber match up in Toronto. They lost a disappointing game on Wednesday, with Chris Sale continuing his struggles and the offense failing to do much of anything over the second half of the game. They’ll likely need some work from their bullpen if they are going to go home with a victory in this game, as Hector Velázquez gets the start. The righty does have one five-inning outing under his belt this year, but that is one of just two outings (out of 20 total) in which he went at least four. Expect to see multiple innings from someone like Steven Wright.

Offensively, the Red Sox are going to be facing off against an opener for the second straight game. This time it will be Derek Law. Once he’s out of the game in the second or third inning, depending on how Boston’s offense does is in the first, my guess is that the left-handed Thomas Pannone will come in and pitch a few innings. That could be the reason for Andrew Benintendi, who has been struggling mightily of late, gets the day off. J.D. Martinez will play in left field with Christian Vázquez handling DH duties and Sandy León behind the plate.

Here are the full lineups: