Why Red Sox Have Kyle Schwarber, Not Kiké Hernández, Leading Off In Wild Card Game

Most of the season, and especially in the back half, Kiké Hernández has been the Boston Red Sox leadoff hitter.

But it will be Kyle Schwarber hitting first when they face the New York Yankees on Tuesday in the American League Wild Card Game.

It was a shocking move by Alex Cora, but one that came with a simple reason. The Red Sox manager explained before the game that with J.D. Martinez out, he wanted to split up the lefties in the lineup.

As a result, Schwarber hits first, with Hernández hitting second. It’s more about the bottom of the lineup, however. Boston’s 6-9 hitters — Hunter Renfroe, Kevin Plawecki, Bobby Dalbec and Christian Arroyo, respectively — all are right-handed hitters.

If Schwarber was hitting second, the Red Sox would have had their lefties hitting second, fourth and fifth, followed by a run of five straight righties going from Renfroe to Hernández at the top. That situation now has been circumvented.

Instead, it allows them to mix things up a little bit more. After all, the postseason always results in some major managerial chess, and setting the lineups is just the start of it.