Red Sox at Rangers lineups: Sweep dreams are made of this

The Red Sox, having already secured their first series win in nearly a month, can earn their first series sweep of the season this afternoon down in Texas against old pal Martín Pérez (2:35 p.m., NESN).

This is what this year was supposed to feel like. Good pitching, great hitting, easy wins. Now they get to face Pérez, one of last year’s Red Sox rotation members, and try to derail the excellent season he’s been able to put together, with a 2.10 ERA and underlying stats that do it justice. If the ball has changed (and something has changed with all these low ERAs), Pérez has clearly been one of the key benefactors.

The Sox will counter him with a bullpen game, with Austin Davis set to make his first big-league start, albeit one in which he’s only expected to pitch for a few innings. The last start he made of any kind was in 2016. Behind him he’ll have the top 5 guys in their new normal lineup spots, with Christian Arroyo getting the start in right field against the lefty. Kevin Plawecki is behind the dish.

SWEEP IT!