Red Sox at Yankees lineup: Testing the momentum

The Red Sox are coming off a much-needed sweep this weekend that really did feel like a turning back of the tides. After a horrid stretch in late July and the first half of August, Boston added Kyle Schwarber to the lineup and got Chris Sale back in the rotation, and both players helped the team sweep the Orioles over the weekend. It wasn’t just a normal sweep, as the Red Sox did dominate all three games, but they were also facing one of the worst teams in the league. Now they face the Yankees for three games in two days, with New York trailing them by just two games back in the wildcard race.

Two of those three games are coming today, with Tanner Houck starting the day portion of the split doubleheader. First pitch is at 1:05 PM ET, and is on MLB Network for those out of market. It’s also the free game of the day on MLB.TV. This will be Houck’s third matchup against the Yankees this year, and while he’s had success in both, New York was trending in a very different direction in those games. They have Joey Gallo in the lineup now (Anthony Rizzo is still on the COVID list), and they have been surging in August. Houck does typically have issues as he gets deeper into the game, particularly once he reaches the fourth and fifth innings, so with today being only a seven-inning affair, and given how important these games are, look for the leash to be relatively short.

Over on the other side, the Red Sox are going up against lefty Jordan Montgomery, who is making his first start since August 1 after hitting the COVID list himself. Jarren Duran gets the day off with the southpaw on the mound, with Hunter Renfroe moving over to center field for just his second start at that position this year. Alex Verdugo is in left with J.D. Martinez in right (right field is much smaller at Yankee Stadium than left field), while Kyle Schwarber DH’s.

The full lineups are below: