Eduardo Rodriguez vs. righty Jake Odorizzi, advantage good guys.
1 Bogaerts SS
2 Pedroia DH
3 Benintendi LF
4 Betts RF
5 Moreland 1B
6 Vazquez C
7 Devers 3B
8 Holt 2B
9 Bradley CF
Last time out ERod went 6, giving up 1 run, and striking out 9 with 4 walks against the A's--his best start since returning from the DL.
Note that 3 of the first four in the lineup are those same killer B's who have been repeatedly chastised this season for not living up to their potential, being just plain awful, etc.
If you look at the Sox individual hitting stats (as I did), season to date, you find those three, but mostly Betts, leading in every single offenseive category--hits, runs, rbi's, HR's, doubles, triples, OBP, SLG, OPS, stolen bases, and total bases. It is no coincidence that all three lead the Sox in total at bats. If you throw in Bradley, who missed a bunch of games but is 4th on the team in OPS, the four killer B's have been pretty darn useful at the plate and in the field (Bogie not so much).
Now here we are in crunch time. The Yankees are playing great, 8-2 in their last 10, and intent on closing that 3 game gap to win (or tie for) the AL East. Heck, you can even say Farrell's job is on the line. So who does he have batting 1st, 2d, and 4th? His most reliables, of course.
Originally Posted by SoxHop
