J.D. Martinez starting in left field for Red Sox in Tuesday’s series opener against Mets

The Red Sox will send Eduardo Rodriguez to the mound as they look to extend their winning streak to six straight games in Tuesday’s series opener against the Mets at Fenway Park.

Tuesday night will mark Rodriguez’s first career start against the Mets, as the left-hander carries with him a lifetime 3.60 ERA and .669 OPS against across 19 outings (110 innings pitched) in interleague play.

On the 2021 campaign as a whole, Rodriguez’s numbers may still not look all that encouraging, but the 28-year-old has — for the most part — pitched better as of late, posting a solid 3.59 ERA and 3.46 FIP with 44 strikeouts to 12 walks over his last eight starts (42 2/3 innings of work) dating back to August 4.

Opposing Rodriguez will be fellow free-agent-to-be Marcus Stroman, who is slated to make his 32nd start of the year for the Mets.

Stroman, who turned 30 in May, is in the midst of a superb campaign for New York, as the right-hander comes into play Tuesday having put up a 2.88 ERA, a 3.27 FIP, and 151:40 strikeout-to-walk ratio through his first 31 appearances and 169 innings pitched of the season.

Given how he spent the first 5 1/2 years of his major-league career with the Blue Jays, Stroman has quite a bit of history against the Red Sox. In addition to sporting a lifetime 2.97 ERA in five career starts at Fenway Park, the righty has squared off against a number of Sox hitters on more than just one occasion.

Xander Bogaerts, for instance, is 11-for-36 (.306) with two career home runs off Stroman. Christian Vazquez, on the other hand, is 7-for-19 (.368) with a double off him.

Both Bogaerts and Vazquez will be in Red Sox manager Alex Cora’s starting lineup to begin things on Tuesday. J.D. Martinez will start in left field, while Hunter Renfroe will start on the bench. Here is how the rest of the team will be lining up behind Rodriguez.