The Red Sox are rolling, and they’re doing it with a lineup that looks a little different for Wednesday night’s series finale in Miami.
Boston is going for its sixth straight win and a three-game sweep of the Marlins at loanDepot Park, but interim manager Chad Tracy is giving two key bats the night off. Willson Contreras is out of the lineup, and Adley Rutschman is also sitting after missing Tuesday’s win because of soreness in his right elbow.
That opens the door for Nick Sogard to lead off and handle first base in Contreras’ spot, while Connor Wong starts at catcher and bats ninth. Caleb Durbin is back in the mix after a scheduled night off Tuesday, and he’ll bat cleanup while playing third base against Marlins right-hander Ryan Gusto.
Mickey Gasper, who had the biggest night of his major league career in Tuesday’s 7-3 win, is staying in the lineup. Gasper blasted two home runs before Jarren Duran put the game away with a grand slam in the 11th inning. Gasper will DH and hit fifth, while Duran remains in left field but drops to seventh.
Boston’s order for Wednesday: Nick Sogard at first, Ceddanne Rafaela in center, Wilyer Abreu in right, Caleb Durbin at third, Mickey Gasper as the DH, Andruw Monasterio at short, Jarren Duran in left, Anthony Seigler at second, Connor Wong catching, and Sonny Gray on the mound.
Gray enters with a 16-3 record and a 2.79 ERA, and he’ll face Gusto, who is 0-3 with a 4.37 ERA.
The Red Sox have put this streak together in convincing fashion. It started with a three-game sweep of the Giants at Fenway Park, then continued in Miami with a 4-2 win Monday and the extra-inning grind on Tuesday. Duran’s slam pushed Boston to its fifth straight victory and moved the club to 73-59.
The Red Sox are five games back of the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East and 1 1/2 games behind the Yankees. A win Wednesday would send them into Thursday’s off day with six straight victories and back-to-back series sweeps, plus a little more momentum before Friday’s series opener against New York.
First pitch is set for 6:40 p.m. ET, with the game airing on NESN.
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