Red Sox at Rays lineups: Can I hear 30 runs?

The Red Sox, still miffed from yesterday’s missed extra point, look to build on yesterday’s laugher behind the Unhittable Tanner Houck against the Rays this afternoon at Fenway Park (4:10 p.m., NESN).

You might not be able to wash away a losing streak in a single day... but if you can, the Red Sox likely did it yesterday, putting up a football score against the Rays to, hopefully, stop any skid in its tracks. Between the hot bats (fittingly, as Boston cooks) and new rotation member Houck, things are looking up again, at least until tonight. Today’s game will be the difference between three back and five back, and you could reasonably argue that their best shot at the AL East crown starts emphatically with today’s game. It has the faintest whiff of the playoffs, like the first leaf falling from an otherwise healthy August Oak. But mostly it’s just gonna be hot.

Jarren Duran continues his bouncing between bottom and top of the order and will hit second, while Kevin Plawecki is starting at catcher and batting seventh. Marwin Gonzalez continues to see playing time, starting at first base and batting eighth, but frustrated Red Sox fans should read the tea leaves on his playing time and the injuries of Christian Arroyo and Kyle Schwarber and realize this is one of the times they need his depth. As the season shrinks and the leaves fall, those spots may be harder to find for him.

Drew Rasmussen starts for the Rays. It is what it is. Here are the lineups, which are what they are: