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The Red Sox welcome back the first-place Rays to Boston with Chris Sale on the mound as they beg another key series this afternoon at Fenway Park (1:10 p.m., NESN, ESPN out-of-market).
The winning streak is over and it is with a heavy heart we can now say Jack López is no longer undefeated in his MLB career. It’s hardly the worst thing in the world, but it’s probably bottom five, if you ask us. Thankfully Sale is here to whiff our blues away and beat back a Rays team that’s eight games up on our boys, or whoever’s left of them at this point. Nick Pivetta and Danny Santana were added to the COVID list yesterday. Who could be next? It’s anyone’s guess.
Sale will be matched by Ryan Yarbrough, who Dennis Eckersley can’t stand, which should make for some fun commentary. López has been shunted away now that the streak is over and Taylor Motter takes his place at second and batting… leadoff? What? Okay. Whatever. That’s all I got.
Game 140 vs. Rays
| Lineup spot | Rays | Red Sox |
|---|---|---|
| Lineup spot | Rays | Red Sox |
| 1 | Randy Arozarena, RF | Taylor Motter, 2B |
| 2 | Wander Franco, SS | Kyle Schwarber, DH |
| 3 | Nelson Cruz, DH | Hunter Renfroe, RF |
| 4 | Yandy Díaz, 3B | J.D. Martinez, LF |
| 5 | Jordan Luplow, 1B | Rafael Devers, 3B |
| 6 | Manuel Margot, CF | Bobby Dalbec, 1B |
| 7 | Austin Meadows, LF | Alex Verdugo, CF |
| 8 | Francisco Mejía, C | Christian Vázquez, C |
| 9 | Taylor Walls, 2B | Jonathan Araúz, SS |
| SP | Ryan Yarbrough, LHP | Chris Sale, LHP |