Tag: lineups

Red Sox Lineup: Alex Verdugo Leading off for First Time This Season While Andrew Benintendi Drops to Seven-Hole Against Blue Jays

After primarily batting out of the six and-seven hole to begin his Red Sox career, Alex Verdugo will be batting leadoff for Boston against the Blue Jays on Saturday night.

The 24-year-old went 2-for-3 with a pair of home runs and a pair of RBI in Friday’s victory over Toronto, raising his OPS on the season to .927 through 11 games played thus far.

Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke had teased the idea of Verdugo batting leadoff sometime soon during his pregame media availability on Friday. Now, that possibility has become a reality following the Arizona native’s most impressive performance with Boston to this point in time.

Prior to coming over to the Sox, Verdugo only started one game as a leadoff hitter with the Dodgers, which came against Matt Grace and the Washington Nationals last July. He went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts in that contest.

Against Chase Anderson, who the Red Sox will be facing to begin things on Saturday, Verdugo is 1-for-1 with one career home run off the veteran right-hander.

As for how the rest of the Red Sox will be lining up against Anderson and behind fellow veteran right-hander Zack Godley in this one, Rafael Devers will follow Verdugo, while Andrew Benintendi, who had served as Boston’s primary leadoff hitter, has dropped down to the No. 7 spot.

Among the other six hitters in Saturday’s lineup, Jose Peraza has seen Anderson the best, as the 26-year-old is a lifetime .333/.368/.667 hitter in 18 career at-bats against the Blue Jays starter.

First pitch Saturday is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. eastern time on NESN and WEEI. Red Sox looking to string together three straight wins for the first time this season.

Red Sox Manager Ron Roenicke Has Considered Batting Alex Verdugo Out of Leadoff Spot ‘Over Last Few Days’

For the sixth time in his 10 starts for the Red Sox thus far, outfielder Alex Verdugo will be batting out of the seven-hole in Friday’s series opener against the Blue Jays at Fenway Park.

According to manager Ron Roenicke, though, Verdugo’s status as a bottom half of the lineup-type hitter could change quite soon, as the Sox skipper has considered batting the 24-year-old out of the leadoff spot “over the last few days.”

So far this season, fellow left-handed hitting outfielder Andrew Benintendi has primarily served as Boston’s leadoff man, and, as you may already be aware, has struggled in that role. Through his first 39 plate appearances of 2020, the former first-round pick has mustered just two hits, resulting in a dismal .069/.289/.103 slash line.

Even with that in mind, Benintendi is still batting leadoff for the Sox on Friday, but if his struggles do continue, Roenicke did say that he’s “not going to be stubborn and keep (the 26-year-old in the leadoff spot) forever.”

Prior to coming over from the Dodgers in February, only made one start for Los Angeles as a leadoff hitter, which came back on July 27, 2019. In that contest against the Nationals, the Arizona native went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts.

On the flip side of that, Verdugo does own a career .291/.345/.555 slash line over 119 plate appearances when leading off an inning.

Roenicke also mentioned that “it doesn’t seem [like] left or right-handers bother” Verdugo, so it would appear that the exuberant outfielder’s reputation as a “reverse splits guy” is here to stay.

Red Sox Lineup: Ryan Weber Looks to Bounce Back in First of Three Against Blue Jays

After an off day on Thursday, the Red Sox begin a stretch of 17 games in 17 days on Friday, starting with the first of three against the 4-6 Blue Jays at Fenway Park.

Right-hander Ryan Weber will make his third start of the season to kick off the weekend for Boston, while veteran righty Tanner Roark will be doing the same for Toronto.

0-2 with an 11.57 ERA and 1.253 OPS against through his first two outings of 2020, Weber will look to rebound against the Jays, who he held to one run over six innings in his first start with the Red Sox last May.

Roark, meanwhile, hasn’t pitched since July 28 due to the Blue Jays’ series against the Phillies last weekend getting postponed. In his Toronto debut, the 33-year-old limited the Nationals to one run over five innings of work.

At Fenway Park, Roark has only made one career appearance as a reliever, which came back in April 2015. He yielded one run over 3 2/3 innings pitched in that outing.

More than five years later, here’s how the Red Sox will be lining up against Roark and behind Weber to begin things on Friday:

With the right-handed Roark on the mound for the opposition, the left-handed bats of Andrew Benintendi, Mitch Moreland, and Jackie Bradley Jr. are all back in Boston’s lineup after all three got Wednesday off.

Also worth noting, J.D. Martinez is batting out of the three-hole once again, Alex Verdugo is starting in right field, and Jose Peraza is starting at second base.

Among these nine hitters, Xander Bogaerts has seen Roark the best without taking sample size into consideration. The 27-year-old shortstop is 3-for-3 with one home run, three RBI, and one walk in his career against the Jays starter.

First pitch Friday is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. eastern time on NESN and WEEI. Red Sox going for their second straight win over a divisional opponent.

Red Sox Lineup: Jose Peraza Gets First Start of Season in Left Field in Series Finale Against Rays

After stranding the bases loaded in the ninth inning of a 5-1 loss to the Rays on Tuesday, the Red Sox will look to wrap up their first road-trip of the season with a bounce-back win in St. Petersburg on Wednesday.

Left-hander Martin Perez will be making his third start of the year for Boston as he is coming off his first victory in a Red Sox uniform in his last time out against the Mets.

In five career outings (four starts) at Tropicana Field, the 29-year-old Perez owns a lifetime 8.39 ERA and .927 OPS against the Rays over 24 2/3 total innings of work.

Here is how the rest of the Red Sox will be lining up behind Perez and against Rays’ starter Ryan Yarbrough on Wednesday night:

Among the nine hitters in Boston’s lineup, J.D. Martinez has by far seen Yarbrough the best, as the 33-year-old owns a lifetime .636/.667/1.182 slash line in 11 career at-bats against the Rays southpaw.

Also worth noting here, Jose Peraza will be making his first start in left field with the Red Sox, a position he played 33 times while a member of the Cincinnati Reds.

With Peraza manning left field in this one, Andrew Benintendi will start the night on the bench, while the left-handed bats of Jackie Bradley Jr. and Mitch Moreland will also sit with a left-hander on the mound for Tampa Bay.

First pitch Thursday is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. eastern time on NESN and WEEI. Red Sox going for win No. 4 in game No. 12.

Red Sox Lineup: J.D. Martinez Batting Third, Starting in Right Field in Series Finale Against Yankees

After getting his first day off of the season on Saturday, J.D. Martinez is back in the Red Sox lineup, batting and third and starting in right field in Sunday night’s series finale against the Yankees.

The soon-to-be-33-year-old slugger is off to a cold start in 2020, as he is slashing just .219/.324/.313 with no home runs and three RBI through his first eight games of the campaign.

“It’s awful,” Martinez said of his swing following Friday’s 5-1 loss to New York. “Yeah, I don’t know. I’m just trying to find it, really. Just grinding away, figuring it out. But I’m sure I’ll get it.”

Through his first eight games of the season, Martinez has primarily hit out of the two-hole for Boston. Sunday will mark just the second time he has hit third in the lineup.

As noted by MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith, one reason the three-time Silver Slugger Award winner has struggled thus far could be the fact that due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, he does not have any access to the Red Sox’ video replay room during games to go over his previous at-bats.

“It’s definitely been an adjustment for me,” Martinez said Friday in regards to the new protocols put in place. “It’s something that’s a big part of my routine. And it’s a big part of who I am — the studying and everything. So it’s kind of one of those things where you’ve gotta kind of find a new routine.”

With left-hander James Paxton, someone Martinez has seen well (7-for-17, 2 homers, five RBI) over the course of his career, getting the start for the Yankees on Sunday, perhaps that could get the three-time All-Star going at the plate.

Here’s how the rest of the Red Sox will be lining up behind right-hander Austin Brice, who will serve as the opener for Boston, and against Paxton on Sunday night. The left-handed bats of Andrew Benintendi, Alex Verdugo, and Mitch Moreland all sit, while Christian Vazquez DH’s and Kevin Plawecki gets the start behind the plate.

First pitch is scheduled for 7:08 p.m. eastern time on ESPN and WEEI.

Red Sox Lineup: Andrew Benintendi Batting Ninth in Series Finale Against Mets

For the first time since his debut season in 2016, Andrew Benintendi is batting ninth for the Red Sox in Tuesday night’s game against the Mets at Fenway Park. This is likely the case because New York will be rolling with 24-year-old rookie left-hander David Peterson as their starting pitcher to close out this short two-game series.

Outside of the 2016 season, the only other time Benintendi has been in the nine-hole has been as a pinch-hitter. In 95 career plate appearances as a No. 9 hitter, the 26-year-old is slashing .329/.372/.553 with two home runs, 11 doubles, and 13 RBI.

Narrowing that sample size down, Benintendi is a lifetime .222/.211/.222 hitter in 20 career plate appearances against southpaws when batting out of the nine-hole.

That second set of data may not be as encouraging as the first, but perhaps moving Benintendi down in the Sox’ batting order is what the former first-round pick needs in order to clear his head a little bit seeing how he is off to a 1-for-14 start at the plate four games into the 2020 season.

Before Monday’s game against the Mets, Benintendi didn’t seem too concerned about his slow start. At the time, he had yet to record a hit, but as previously mentioned, he picked up his first knock of the season later that same day on an infield bunt single.

“I’m usually a slow starter,” Benintendi said when speaking to reporters via Zoom. “I’m not panicking. So hopefully I’ll get that first one tonight and then roll from there.”

Out of the nine-hole on Tuesday, Benintendi certainly has the opportunity to get on a roll. Just like everyone else in the Red Sox lineup, he has never faced Peterson before at the major-league level.

Here’s how the rest of the Red Sox will be lining up behind left-hander Matt Hall, who will be making his first career big-league start in this one.

First pitch Tuesday is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. eastern time on NESN and WEEI. Last game in Boston for the Sox before they spend five straight days in New York City.

 

 

Red Sox Lineup: Andrew Benintendi Back in Leadoff Spot in First Game Against Mets

After dropping two out of three to the Orioles over the Weekend, the Red Sox will look to get back on track in the first of a four-game, home-at-home series against the Mets beginning on Monday night at Fenway Park.

Boston’s first interleague opponent of the season, the Mets last visited Fenway in September 2018, where they too dropped two out of three to the eventual World Series champions that year.

As far as this week’s series goes, left-hander Josh Osich will be making his first career big-league start for the Sox in Monday’s opener. I say that, but Oscih will really serve as the opener for Boston, meaning he’ll work an inning or two before right-hander Zack Godley is dispatched as the team’s “bulk” pitcher.

Osich, 31, mainly relies on a cutter, sinker, and slider. He made his Red Sox debut on Saturday against the O’s and worked a scoreless ninth inning.

Offensively speaking, here’s how the Boston bats will line up behind Osich as they’ll be matched up against veteran right-hander Michael Wacha for the Mets.

Right off the bat, Andrew Benintendi is back in the leadoff spot after being limited to pinch-hit duty in Sunday’s loss to Baltimore. The 26-year-old has yet to record a hit this season in 12 trips to the plate, so it’s imperative that he gets it going if he wants consistent playing time going forward.

From there, it goes J.D. Martinez, Rafael Devers, who collected his first base knock of 2020 on Sunday, and Xander Bogaerts making up the 2-3-4 portion of the lineup.

Mitch Moreland will be making his second start of the season at first with a right-handed pitcher on the mound for New York, while Christian Vazquez will be catching Osich to begin things on Monday.

Rounding up this edition of the Red Sox lineup are Alex Verdugo, getting the start in right field, Jackie Bradley Jr., getting the start in center, and Jose Peraza, who is batting ninth while once again starting at second base.

Per Rotowire, Peraza and reserve catcher Jonathan Lucroy are the only two Red Sox position players who have any experience against Wacha, which is understandable seeing how all three previously spent a decent amount of time playing in the National League Central.

Peraza is 4-for-13 (.308) lifetime off the Mets right-hander with one double and three RBI. Lucroy, on the other hand, is 6-for-16 (.375) lifetime with one double, one home run, and three RBI.

As you might have already figured out, Wacha, who turned 29 earlier this month, will be making his first career regular season start against the Red Sox on Monday. He started Games 2 and 6 of the 2013 World Series against Boston while a member of the St. Louis Cardinals and went 1-1 with an ERA of 7.45 over those two outings.

The Red Sox will be looking to get back to .500 to kick off the week against the Metropolitans of Queens, who are also 1-2 three games into the 2020 campaign.

First pitch Monday is scheduled for 7:35 p.m. eastern time on NESN, ESPN, and WEEI.

Red Sox Lineup: Andrew Benintendi Sits, Alex Verdugo Gets Start in Left Field in Series Finale Against Orioles

After managing just two runs in Saturday’s loss to the Orioles, the Red Sox have again shook up their lineup for Sunday’s series finale at Fenway Park.

With veteran left-hander Wade LeBlanc getting the start for Baltimore, the left-handed-hitting Andrew Benintendi and Mitch Moreland will start this one on the bench in favor of Kevin Pillar and Michael Chavis.

Alex Verdugo, on the other hand, will be making his second consecutive start for the Sox and his first as a left fielder batting out of the seven-hole. The fact that he is in against a left-handed starter likely has to do with his three-hit performance on Saturday, while Benintendi is a chilling 0-for-9 to start the new season.

Other notable lineup notes for Sunday include Jose Peraza batting out of the leadoff spot, J.D. Martinez remaining in the two-hole for the third straight game, Rafael Devers remaining in the three-hole despite going 0-for-his-first-9 at the plate, Xander Bogaerts returning after starting Saturday’s game on the bench and batting cleanup, Kevin Pillar batting fifth and starting in right field once again, Christian Vazquez returning after a day off on Saturday and batting sixth, and Jackie Bradley Jr. rounding things up and starting in center field.

Among Boston’s starting nine, Martinez by far has had the most success off LeBlanc, as the 33-year-old slugger owns a 1.856 OPS in 12 career plate appearances against the O’s starter.

All this is coming as Red Sox right-hander Ryan Weber, fresh off making his first even major-league Opening Day roster, will be making his first start of the 2020 campaign for Boston. I believe Red Sox manager Ron Roenick said the goal is for Weber to go at least five innings in this one.

First pitch Sunday is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. eastern time on NESN and WEEI. Red Sox going for the series victory.

After Four-Hit Debut, Jose Peraza Moving up in Red Sox Lineup

After going 4-for-5 with two doubles and two RBI in his Red Sox debut on Friday night, second baseman Jose Peraza has moved up in Boston’s lineup for Saturday’s contest against the Baltimore Orioles.

For the first time in his Red Sox career, Peraza will be hitting out of the five-hole less than 24 hours after he was the club’s No. 9 hitter on Opening Day.

In his five plate appearances on Friday, Peraza saw a total of just eight pitches, proving a patient approach might not work best for every hitter.

“He doesn’t waste a lot of time,” Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke said of Peraza postgame. “First pitch, if he sees it and it’s in there, he rips it.” The average exit velocity of Peraza’s four hits was 95.6 mph off the bat.

Prior to coming over to Boston in December, the Venezuela native accrued 19 plate appearances out of the five-hole over four seasons with the Reds and posted a .316 batting average in that spot.

Cincinnati non-tendered Peraza back in December after he mustered an OPS+ of 62 in 2019, which prompted the Red Sox to sign the infielder to a one-year deal just days later.

During Summer Camp workouts earlier this month, Peraza seemed very confident that he would be able to bounce back offensively in 2020 when speaking with reporters via Zoom on July 14.

“Offensively I feel like I’m a completely different person,” he said. “Because I put in so much work during the offseason and then obviously during (spring training) camp and even during this pandemic while we were waiting, just making the minor tweaks. Offensively I’m a different person than I was back in Cincinnati.”

It was only one game, but Peraza could prove to be a key piece of the Red Sox’ infield puzzle this season and beyond seeing how he is under team control through 2022.

Alex Verdugo Left Out of Red Sox’ Opening Day Lineup; Outfielder Reassured Ron Roenicke That He ‘Hits Left-Handers Well’

As he is about to embark on his first season with his new team, Alex Verdugo will not be starting for the Red Sox on Opening Day.

With left-hander Tommy Milone getting the start for Baltimore opposite Nathan Eovaldi on Friday night, the 24-year-old outfielder was left out of the Sox’ starting lineup by manager Ron Roenicke in favor of right-handed hitting outfielder Kevin Pillar.

When speaking with reporters prior to Friday’s season opener against the Orioles at Fenway Park, Roenicke addressed this decision, saying that he called Verdugo earlier in the day to let him know that he was not starting against the left-handed starter.

“He reassured me that he does hit left-handers well,” Roenicke said via Zoom in regards to Verdugo’s response. As a reverse splits guy, that is indeed true for the left-handed hitter.

In 106 games played for the Dodgers last season, the Arizona native racked up 109 plate appearances against southpaws. Over the course of those 109 PAs, he slashed .327/.358/.485 with two home runs, nine RBI, and a 121 wRC+. Against right-handed pitching, his OPS dropped by 36 points and his wRC+ dropped by 10 points over 268 plate appearances.

Earlier this month, Verdugo insisted that he wanted to be an everyday player with the Red Sox, but he also acknowledged that he could start the season in a platoon role with his new team.

“I want to play and I want to be a starter,” he said during one of his Summer Camp media sessions. “That’s what everybody comes into the big leagues for. That’s what everybody wants to be. So I want to play every day. But, if they want to do what they have to do, then I’ll follow and I’ll play as hard as I can.”

Perhaps we’ll see Verdugo make his first start with the Red Sox on Saturday afternoon, when right-hander Alex Cobb will be taking the mound for the O’s.