Red Sox vs. Angels Lineups: Mike Trout is here

The Red Sox and Angels are both technically still in the wildcard race, with the Red Sox’ chances much more real but still pretty far out there. Even with that, this is still an exciting weekend for Boston baseball. There are probably some who are sick of hearing about Mike Trout but, well, sorry! Don’t read on! Trout is the best player in the world, maybe the best player I’ve ever seen and is on a track where it’s feasible he ends his career as the best player in the history of the game. Obviously he has plenty of work to do if he’s going to take that mantle and he’s far enough away from the end of his career that the odds are he won’t get to that point. That it’s a legitimate possibility, though, is incredible. The Red Sox don’t get to see Trout all that often, so I’m always psyched when I get to see him.

It’s extra fun as long as Mookie Betts is playing for Bosotn, too. In my (obviously biased) opinion Betts is the second best player in the world. That is much more up for debate than Trout in the top spot, but Betts is the guy who has been closest to Trout in recent years and obviously beat him out in the MVP voting a year ago. It’s a battle between two of the best and most complete players in recent memories, and even if it’s not a series with big-time playoff implications it’s still a super cool time for baseball fans. At least it is for this baseball fan.

As far as this game specifically goes, Chris Sale takes the mound for the Red Sox. The ace has been Extremely Not An Ace lately and has allowed 14 runs combined in his last two starts. This will not be an easy test as the Angels have a lot of power in their lineup so he needs to be sharp. On the other side, the Red Sox offense is going up against left-handed rookie Dillon Peters. It’s a normal platoon lineup with Sam Travis at first and Michael Chavis at second.

The full lineups are below.