Red Sox lineup vs. Tarik Skubal doesn’t have Friday hero — or Jarren Duran
After hitting a walk-off single Friday night, Masataka Yoshida is out of Boston's lineup Saturday against Tigers ace Tarik Skubal. Jarren Duran and Marcelo Mayer aren't playing, either.
BOSTON — The Red Sox offense will face its toughest challenge yet Saturday — and they’ll do so without a couple of key hitters. Facing reigning American League Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal , Boston is sitting Friday hero Masataka Yoshida, as well as Jarren Duran, starting catcher Carlos Narváez and second baseman Marcelo Mayer on Saturday. Instead, Alex Cora is emptying the bench with Andruw Monasterio playing shortstop (and hitting second) and Connor Wong (catcher) and Isiah Kiner-Falefa (second base) both playing.
Trevor Story is the designated hitter, batting fourth. Roman Anthony is in left field and leading off before three right-handed hitters (Monasterio, Willson Contreras and Story). It’s a similar lineup to what Cora rolled out last time the Red Sox faced a lefty (Milwaukee’s Shane Drohan) on April 8.
Monasterio hit second that day, too. The Red Sox have only faced two lefties all season (Drohan and Cincinnati’s Andrew Abbott, on Opening Day). They will face two more tough ones in the coming days with Detroit’s Framber Valdez and New York’s Max Fried on the schedule.
Expect Cora to keep sitting Mayer, who has just four plate appearances against lefties all year, and finding at-bats for Monasterio and Kiner-Falefa. Yoshida, who hit a walk-off single in the 10th inning Friday, is a career . 237 hitter with a .