BOSTON — The Red Sox are sitting three of their hottest left-handed hitters, including the scorching Jarren Duran, as they close out the first half of the season against the Athletics on Sunday afternoon.
Duran, Alex Verdugo and Triston Casas will all begin their days on the bench as Boston takes on A’s lefty JP Sears. Rob Refsnyder is leading off and playing left field, Adam Duvall gets a rare start in right field and Kiké Hernández is in center. Masataka Yoshida is the designated hitter with Justin Turner playing first. Jorge Alfaro is behind the plate making his first start as Boston’s catcher.
- Related: Mobile sports betting is live in Massachusetts on BetMGM. Get started with a $1,000 first-bet offer
The decision to sit Duran, who had three hits Saturday and is hitting .424 with 15 extra-base hits in his last 22 games, is sure to raise some eyebrows, but manager Alex Cora wanted to stack as many right-handed hitters as possible against Sears. Boston is starting seven righties Sunday with Duran, Verdugo and Casas available off the bench.
Duran is hitting .154/.185/.269 with a 40% strikeout rate against left-handed pitcher over the last two-plus months. His hot streak hasn’t led to an everyday role quite yet. He’s playing most days in center field but still getting days off in place of Duvall or Hernández. Cora joked that the situation reminded him of April 2007, when he started off hot but eventually was replaced by rookie Dustin Pedroia.
“It’s part of the equation. I know the kid is doing amazing,” Cora said. “He’s doing great and we love it. But obviously, there’s other guys who are here to do their job against lefties. We’re going to find ways to get him at-bats. We will get him at-bats. Today, it’s a lefty on the mound so we go with the righties.”
In Boston’s 24 games dating back to June 11, Duran has gotten 15 starts and came into the game late on seven occasions. He’s expected to enter if the A’s use a right-handed reliever at some point Sunday. Verdugo is also available on a rare day off.
- Massachusetts online sports betting is live. Learn more about the top sportsbook operators in Mass. such as FanDuel, DraftKings and BetMGM to find the best offers available.
“(Verdugo has been grinding for a while... You can see him, the swing is getting a little bit longer and all that,” Cora said. “He’ll be available. All of them. We’ve got Jarren off the bench, we’ve got Casas off the bench and Dugie, so at one point, if they go with righties, we’ll make adjustments.”
It’s another bullpen game for the Red Sox, who won Friday when lefty Brennan Bernardino started and Nick Pivetta pitched five innings in relief. On Sunday, new reliever Tayler Scott will get the start; lefty Chris Murphy is expected to see a bulk role in relief.
First pitch is at 1:35 p.m. ET.
OAKLAND ATHLETICS (25-66) @ BOSTON RED SOX (47-43) · FENWAY PARK · BOSTON, MA
FIRST PITCH: 1:35 p.m. ET
TV CHANNEL: NESN
LIVE STREAM: fuboTV - If you have cable and live in the New England TV market, you can use your login credentials to watch via NESN on mobile and WiFi-enabled devices. If you don’t have cable, you can watch the game via fuboTV, in New England | Watch NESN
- Massachusetts online sports betting is live. Learn more about the top sportsbook operators in Mass. such as FanDuel, DraftKings and BetMGM to find the best offers available.
RADIO: WEEI 93.7 FM
PITCHING PROBABLES: LHP JP Sears (1-6, 4.09 ERA) vs. RHP Tayler Scott (0-0, 7.71 ERA)
RED SOX LINEUP:
1. LF Rob Refsnyder
2. 1B Justin Turner
3. 3B Rafael Devers
4. RF Adam Duvall
5. DH Masataka Yoshida
6. C Jorge Alfaro
7. CF Kiké Hernández
8. 2B Christian Arroyo
9. SS Yu Chang
ATHLETICS LINEUP:
1. 2B Tony Kemp
2. 1B Ryan Noda
3. LF Seth Brown
4. DH Brent Rooker
5. CF JJ Bleday
6. CF Cody Thomas
7. C Manny Piña
8. 3B Jace Peterson
9. SS Tyler Wade