BOSTON — If there’s one thing the Red Sox offense has consistently struggled with all season, it’s hitting lefty starters. Boston is just 12-13 against southpaws this year as opposed to a stellar 38-27 record against righties. On Wednesday night, they’ll face a left-handed challenge in Oakland starter J.P. Sears.
With that in mind, manager Alex Cora has six right-handed hitters in the lineup in the middle game of a three-game series between the Sox and A’s. Rob Refsnyder (left field) and Tyler O’Neill (right field) will hit second and third while Romy Gonzalez (first base) and newly recalled second baseman Jamie Westbrook will also start.
The Red Sox rank 14th in baseball with a .247 average against lefties and 13th with a .717 OPS. They’ve only hit 24 homers against southpaws, which is tied for 19th in the game. Sears has held lefty hitters to a .592 OPS so far this season, explaining why players like Wilyer Abreu, David Hamilton and Dominic Smith will start Wednesday’s game on the bench.
Westbrook, who was recalled from Triple-A on Tuesday, will start for the first time since June 15.
“Put good at-bats, that’s all we can do,” said manager Alex Cora. “For a while there, we had three or four lefties against lefties because of where the roster was. Craig recognized that, which is why Westy (Westbrook) is here now.”
Coming off a start during which he took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, righty Nick Pivetta is on the mound for the Red Sox, who have won seven of their last eight and are 10 games over .500 for the first time this year. First pitch is at 7:10 p.m. ET.
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OAKLAND ATHLETICS (34-59) @ BOSTON RED SOX (50-40) · FENWAY PARK · BOSTON, MA · GAME 91
FIRST PITCH: 7:10 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 NESNon mobile and WiFi-enabled devices. If you don’t have cable, you can watch the game via fuboTV, in New England | Watch NESN
RADIO: WEEI 93.7 FM
PITCHING PROBABLES: LHP J.P. Sears (5-7, 4.74 ERA) vs. RHP Nick Pivetta (4-5, 4.06 ERA)
RED SOX LINEUP:
1. CF Jarren Duran
2. LF Rob Refsnyder
3. RF Tyler O’Neill
4. 3B Rafael Devers
5. C Connor Wong
6. 1B Romy Gonzalez
7. DH Masataka Yoshida
8. 2B Jamie Westbrook
9. SS Ceddanne Rafaela
ATHLETICS LINEUP:
1. CF JJ Bleday
2. LF Miguel Andujar
3. DH Brent Rooker
4. C Shea Langeliers
5. RF Lawrence Butler
6. 2B Zack Gelof
7. 1B Tyler Nevin
8. 3B Brett Harris
9. SS Max Schuemann
Duran CF, Refsnyder LF, O’Neill RF, Devers 3B, Wong C, Gonzalez 1B, Yoshida DH, Westbrook 2B, Rafaela SS
