The Red Sox are leaning into their depth again, and with a sweep on the line Sunday at Fenway Park, that approach is showing up right in the lineup card.
Boston manager Chad Tracy shuffled things around against Giants left-hander Matt Wilkinson, sliding Jahmai Jones into the leadoff spot and keeping Adley Rutschman and Jarren Duran out of the starting nine. Connor Wong is behind the plate, Eli White is in left field, and the Red Sox are rolling out a group that looks built to keep the momentum from Saturday’s comeback alive.
Jones will open as the designated hitter and set the table for Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu. Willson Contreras stays in the cleanup spot after delivering one of Boston’s biggest swings of the series.
The Red Sox announced the lineup before the 3:15 p.m. ET first pitch, and it’s another sign of how this club has managed a crowded injured list without losing its edge.
Boston is using just one left-handed hitter against Wilkinson, with Abreu batting third in right field. Nick Sogard, a switch-hitter, is in the sixth spot and starting at second base.
Jones has become a useful piece since arriving in Boston in July, and Sunday gives him a chance to jump on a pitcher with almost no big league track record. Wilkinson has only one major league appearance to his name, and in that debut he worked two scoreless innings.
The Red Sox could have gone all-in with regulars in a sweep opportunity, but instead Tracy is giving Wong and White a shot while letting Rutschman and Duran catch a breather. That choice looks a little less daring after the way the bottom of the order dragged Boston back into Saturday’s game.
Caleb Durbin started the ninth-inning rally with a leadoff walk. White followed with an RBI single, Sogard doubled in the tying run, and White later came home on Abreu’s bases-loaded fielder’s choice to finish off an unlikely 3-2 win.
That comeback gave Boston a chance to lock up its second series win of the homestand.
The Red Sox opened the weekend Friday with a 6-4 victory, powered by Contreras’ towering three-run homer and Abreu’s three-hit night. Saturday looked out of reach for a long stretch before the late rally changed everything.
Now Boston gets one more shot to turn a strong weekend into a sweep. The Red Sox entered Sunday at 70-59 and in third place in the American League East.
San Francisco came in having dropped three straight and sitting at 52-77. After this game, Boston heads out for a three-game set against the Miami Marlins.
Jake Bennett gets the ball for the Red Sox. The left-hander is 7-6 with a 3.46 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP across 80 2/3 innings, and he has given up only six home runs. That’s a useful profile against a Giants lineup that includes former Red Sox star Rafael Devers and shortstop Willy Adames.
Boston’s Sunday lineup: Jahmai Jones, DH
Ceddanne Rafaela, CF
Wilyer Abreu, RF
Willson Contreras, 1B
Caleb Durbin, 3B
Nick Sogard, 2B
Andruw Monasterio, SS
Eli White, LF
Connor Wong, C
Starting pitcher: Jake Bennett, LHP
Sunday’s game will air nationally on NBC.
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