Red Sox Standout Out Of Lineup For Series Opener Vs. Yankees

When the Red Sox and Yankees begin a highly-anticipated weekend series at Fenway Park on Friday, Boston will be without a very important piece at the top of the team’s lineup.

It was announced prior to Friday’s game that left fielder Jarren Duran will begin the game on the bench against Yankees left-hander Ryan Yarbrough. Rob Refsnyder, who is batting .279 with three home runs against southpaws this season, is in the lead off spot and will play left field.

Currently hitting .248 against left-handed pitching this season, sitting Duran in a crucial series against the Yankees, especially with the team’s recent injury woes, is a calculated risk. That being said, Duran’s career numbers against Yarbrough in limited at-bats adds a little more weight to manager Alex Cora’s decision.

In seven career at-bats against Yarbrough, Duran is 0-for-7 with one RBI and five strikeouts. After striking out twice against him during the team’s 10-7 comeback victory in the Bronx on June 7, swapping Duran for Refsnyder seems to make a lot of sense.

In addition to Duran beginning Friday’s game on the bench, a lot has been made of Cora’s recent comments about sitting rookies Marcelo Mayer and Roman Anthony against left-handed pitching. While Mayer will indeed sit against Yarbrough tonight, Anthony is penciled into the lineup, batting fifth and playing right field.