Red Sox Make More Lineup Changes During Yankees Series

Alex Cora went back to the drawing board for another new-look Boston Red Sox lineup.

The Red Sox are slated to face a left-handed starting pitcher in each of their three games against the New York Yankees. That’s prompted Cora to get creative so his lefty bats don’t sit out the entire American League East series.

Following Friday’s 2-1 win in extra innings, Boston tweaked its lineup for Saturday night’s showdown against Carlos Rodón and the Yankees.

Rob Refsnyder leads off for the second straight game, but the platoon player moves from left field to right field. Jarren Duran returns from a day off to bat fifth in left field, and Roman Anthony takes a seat after a hitless Friday at Fenway Park.

Marcelo Mayer has received just eight plate appearances against lefties since the Red Sox promoted him in late May. After sitting Friday, the rookie returns to the lineup to bat eighth at third base. Mayer draws the starting nod over Abraham Toro, who’s batting .341/.388/.568 in June.

Rafael Devers, Romy Gonzalez, and Carlos Narvaez will again bat second, third, and fourth at designated hitter, first base, and catcher, respectively. Trevor Story stays in the lineup to hit sixth at shortstop. Center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela moves up a spot to seventh, and Kristian Campbell will play second base in the nine hole.

Hunter Dobbins will take the mound six days after pitching five innings in an 11-7 win over the Yankees.

Some Red Sox fans may want to see Anthony and Mayer permanently entrenched in the lineup, but the team has received prolific production from two veteran righties. Refsnyder and Gonzalez have crushed southpaws to a .960 and .953 OPS, respectively.

Earlier this week, Cora discussed the predicament of weighing those results against giving Boston’s promising newcomers reps to develop in the big leagues.

“We have some good righties here,” Cora said. “If we don’t play Romy, if we don’t play Ref against a lefty, is that good for the team? I get the whole conversation. I get that (the rookies) are great hitters, they’re great players, but those two guys are really good at what they do. We’re trying to win as many games as possible.”

Saturday’s game starts at 7:15 p.m. ET on FOX.