Red Sox vs. Twins Game 1 lineups: Nate for eight

The Red Sox and Twins will face off for the first of two 7-inning games this afternoon in Minnesota (2:10 p.m., NESN) behind Nathan Eovaldi as they look to win their eighth straight game.

Eovaldi looks for his third strong outing to begin the year with his offense facing what might be their toughest task yet in Kenta Maeda, who was second in the American League Cy Young Award voting last year and has started this season off similarly strong, and who will start for the Twins.

The Red Sox activated reliever Eduard Bazardo for the doubleheader rather than a position player, so we should see some overlap in the batting orders, about which people have opinions. The most notable switch for game one is not Kevin Plawecki for Christian Vázquez, which is basic doubleheader stuff, but the swap of Christian Arroyo for Kiké Hernández at the top of the order, a move sure to thrill the lineups-obsessed among us. Per today’s Over the Monster Podcast, I do not believe that baseball teams, full of superstitious types as they are, are going to swap Hernández/Arroyo out of the leadoff role when they seem unable to lose a game with them up there, no matter how silly it can look. You may disagree, but we at the OTM podcast are used to it, and, for what it’s worth, hate the 7-inning games with a passion. It’s what we do:

Correct.

Anyhow here you go. Lots of baseball forthcoming, though there should be more: