Red Sox vs. Orioles lineup: Nothing regular about this one

I am not an alarmist when it comes to this baseball season. As bad as I think MLB has been at dealing with its labor force, the urge to play baseball has always felt correct, and no matter what happens from here on out I think it has been worth the effort... unless the Sox lose to the Orioles tonight (7:30 p.m., NESN), their first game of the COVID-19 shortened season, and render the whole project meaningless.

Just kidding... I think. But I have no big preamble. We have waited long enough. Nathan Eovaldi gets the start for Boston, which is a statement we will hear as often as the Sox can manage it in 2020. With Eduardo Rodriguez out indefinitely, Eovaldi is basically the only starter of any renown hanging around. That’s not great, but it could be worse. He could be, say, Baltimore’s number one starter, Tommy Milone, who faces the Sox tonight in what I’m going to guess, without checking, is his first Opening Day start. Just a hunch. (Ed. Note: This is correct.)

The Red Sox lineup isn’t all that surprising, but we get the lefty version (aka the one without Mitch Moreland) to start, though Jackie Bradley Jr. is still in there. That Alex Verdugo starts on the pine amuses me, but I get it. The Orioles lineup, however, is a crime against the sport, with former Red Sox fielding whiz José Iglesias batting third. The rest is hardly better. Renato Núñez is pretty good and DHing, but the rest is some ““shield-your-eyes” stuff.

Now they’re definitely gonna win. Sorry about that. I’ll do better next time.