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Red Sox star out of lineup as Boston (.601 OPS vs. lefties) faces another tough southpaw
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- Red Sox star out of lineup as Boston (.601 OPS vs. lefties) faces another tough southpaw
BALTIMORE — So far this season, the Red Sox have hit .213 with a .601 OPS against left-handed pitchers. They’ll try to solve that problem — against another tough southpaw — without Roman Anthony again on Saturday at Camden Yards.
Due to upper back soreness, Anthony is out of Boston’s lineup for the fourth consecutive game . First pitch was moved up from 4:05 p.m. ET to 12:05 p.m. due to rain but the quick turnaround wasn’t a factor in Anthony being left out against tough left-hander Trevor Rogers .
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“Even at 4:00, he wasn’t going to play,” said manager Alex Cora. “He’s going to hit today and we’ll see how it goes. He’s actually going to the cage. He’s moving a lot better so hopefully he’s available today after his progression. Hopefully, we get him in the lineup tomorrow and if not, Monday.”
Without Anthony, the Red Sox will have a different-looking batting order as they try to snap a four-game losing streak. Ceddanne Rafaela is leading off for the second time in four games and first baseman Willson Contreras is hitting second, ahead of Wilyer Abreu (third). Andruw Monasterio is the designated hitter, Jarren Duran is in left field and Isiah Kiner-Falefa is at second base with Marcelo Mayer out. Connor Wong is catching Garrett Crochet .
The Red Sox are 2-3 against left-handed starters so far after losing games started by Tarik Skubal , Framber Valdez and Max Fried in the last week. The early results have shown the impacts of losing lefty-mashers Rob Refsnyder (signed with Seattle ) and Romy Gonzalez (out after shoulder surgery) and replacing them with two light-hitting utility men in Monasterio and Kiner-Falefa, who are a combined 2-for-32 against lefties this season.
So far, Monasterio is 1-for-18 with four strikeouts and three walks against left-handers and Kiner-Falefa is 1-for-14 with four strikeouts against them. Both hitters are hitting under .200 on the season. Cora will once again start both in a lineup that includes seven right-handed hitters against Rogers.
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“Ref is in Seattle and Romy’s hurt,” Cora said. “Izzy and Mona, they’ve got their job here and we’re going to deploy them and we’re going to use them. It’s different than in the past but they’re capable big leaguers that can do a lot of things. Obviously, hitting the ball out of the ballpark is not on their menu but they can move the ball around, put good at-bats and put pressure on the opposition.”
On the mound, Crochet will look to bounce back from a brutal two-start stretch in which he allowed 16 runs (15 earned) on 16 hits (including 4 homers) in a total of 6-⅔ innings . He pitched against the Orioles and dominated them twice last year, allowing two earned runs in 14 combined innings at Camden Yards.
First pitch is at 12:05 p.m. ET.
BOSTON RED SOX (9-17) vs. BALTIMORE ORIOLES (13-13) · ORIOLE PARK AT CAMDEN YARDS · BALTIMORE, MD · GAME 27
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FIRST PITCH: 12:05 p.m. ET
TV CHANNEL: NESN
RADIO: WEEI 93.7 FM
PITCHING PROBABLES: LHP Garrett Crochet (2-3, 7.88 ERA) vs. LHP Trevor Rogers (2-2, 3.08 ERA)
RED SOX LINEUP:
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Ceddanne Rafaela CF
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Willson Contreras 1B
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Wilyer Abreu RF
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Trevor Story SS
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Andruw Monasterio DH
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Jarren Duran LF
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Caleb Durbin 3B
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Connor Wong C
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Isiah Kiner-Falefa 2B
ORIOLES LINEUP:
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Taylor Ward DH
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Pete Alonso 1B
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Tyler O’Neill RF
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Coby Mayo 3B
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