Red Sox v.s. Rays Series Preview Part TWO!!! (Batting Lineup for Series Opener)
- Chris Knowles
- Mar 28, 2018
- 6 min read
BATTING FOR THE BOSTON RED SOX:
First up: Mookie Betts
Mookie Betts is first in the lineup. After a nerve racking Spring Training game against the Cubs where he took out a catcher to add points to the board, it has been confirmed that he will be ready to play. In Game 1, Betts AVG. against Chris Archer is .387. He has faced this specific pitcher 31 times and has hit 4 home runs and 10 RBI's. With such a high average, it is very comforting to know he is leading off because his ability to get on base is outstanding with 166 total hits last year resulting in 288 total bases. These hits consisted of 46 doubles, 2 triples, and 24 home runs which ran in 102 players overall. He has stolen 26 bases and has only been caught 3 times and struck out 79 times. During this game, I do not see Mookie striking out with this pitcher or any other pitcher during the 4 game series. He is batting with a .273 against the 2nd game pitcher and a .294 against the 4th game pitcher so with AVG's so high, I think we will be seeing good stuff from Mookie during this series.
Next up: Andrew Benintendi
Next up to bat will be "Benny Biceps" Andrew Benintendi. Benny's AVG against Archer is a whopping .500 with 10 at bats and 2 RBI's. Benny has been killing it all Spring long, so I am very excited to see what he brings to the plate this year and I think he will give us quite a show during this season. He will look hot, both figuratively and literally, during this 4 game series. He has batted a .500 against two of the 4 pitchers, never batting against Eovaldi and a .333 against Faria. This guy is on fire and I don't believe we have anything to worry about with Benny at the helm.
Batting Third: Hanley Ramirez
Batting third for the Red Sox is Hanley Ramirez. Hanley is batting a .333 against Archer with 21 AB. He will have a .333 in game two against Snell, facing Faria for the first time, and a .412 against Eovaldi. This man is going to go hard in this series because he is apparently unstoppable against these pitchers. His AVG is high and he is always hitting heavy. Last year he hit 23 home runs and 62 RBI's. I think we will be seeing an increase in these stats by the end of game 4.
Batting Fourth: J.D. Martinez
Coming up fourth in the lineup is J.D. Martinez. During game 1, Martinez may run into some problems coming up to bat. He bats and AVG of .235 against Chris Archer having 17 AB with 1 HR and 3 RBI. Generally a good batter with a career AVG of .285, we might see something good happen with him in the box, but his record against maybe a little too low for comfort. In game 2 and 3, we will just have to wait and see because this will be his first time stepping in front of Blake Snell and Jacob Faria, but I believe he will fair better in this game compared to the first. In game 4 is where we will hope to see him shine because he bats an impressive .400 against Nathan Eovaldi through 5 AB so lets hope he can keep that AVG standing.
Batting Fifth: Xander Bogaerts
Next in the lineup is Xander Bogaerts and so far as I am concerned I'm excited for this guy being on the team. He impressed me during the Spring this season so I am hoping for a great season with him. In game 1, we should see a pretty good show because he bats a .267 against Archer and with how he has been doing recently, I imagine a jump in his AVG against. In game 2, he goes up against Snell who he has gone up against 9 times and hit an RBI once, walked twice, and struck out 3 times. This might be a challenging game for him, but I think he will come out on top by the end of it. In Game 3 he goes up against Faria for the first time and in Game 4 he goes up against Nathan Eovaldi and I will give Eovaldi his due keeping Bogaerts at a low .200. Xander has gone up against him 15 times and only has 3 H with 2 RBI's. The challenge in this game will be for him to get the ball to the ground and beat the defense to first base.
Batting Sixth: Rafael Devers
Batting sixth is my main man Rafael Devers. This young guy gives me faith in young players throughout the entire league. In game one he goes against Chris Archer where he is batting 1.000. He faced him twice on got on base both times, one time being a double. In game 2 he goes against Blake Snell for the first time and I have no fear that Dever will put him in his place. If Faria pitches in game 3, this will be his second time facing Devers who did nothing so we will see if Devers shows him that he is no one to mess with. In game 4 he goes up against Eovaldi for the first time as well and we will get to see Devers once again shoot for a high AVG against a pitcher.
Batting Seventh: Eduardo Nuñez
Seventh in line is Eduardo Nuñez. In game 1 against Archer, Nuñez is batting a .222 with 9 AB and only 2 H. Game 1 may not be where he shines his brightest, but 2 H in 9 AB isn't too bad seeing as how he has never struck out against. This will be his first time against Snell and Faria and he is hammering a .444 against Eovaldi so if anything, game 4 is gonna be good to watch. Against Eovaldi he has had 9 AB with 4 H and only 1 K. Games 2 and 3 will be enjoyable to watch to see how he handles these pitchers for the first time.
Batting Eight: Christian Vazquez
Up next in the order is the catcher Christian Vazquez. Vazquez has had an impressive Spring batting an AVG of .282 which is higher than his career AVG of .261. In game 1 we may not see much from him. He is batting a low .133 against Archer having 15 AB, only 2 H, and a whopping 7 K's. Things may not look up for him in this game, but he could surprise in the next two going up against both Snell and Faria for the first time. Going into game 4 he will be facing Eovaldi with a AVG of .000 going up against him 6 times with nothing to show for it. Vazquez is definitely bottom of the lineup when it comes to batting stats, but I wouldn't count him out. He is usually always there when we need him most.
Batting Ninth: Jackie Bradley Jr.
Coming in at the end of the lineup is Jackie Bradley Jr. aka JBJ, has had a fantastic Spring on the field and very good in the batter's box batting an AVG of .295. In game 1 he goes up against Chris Archer who has kept JBJ at a .214 who, with 28 AB, has amassed 6 H, two being doubles, 3 RBI's, 2 walks, and an unfortunate 10 K's. As long as JBJ can keep the bat on the ball and avoid the K, he should have a good outing that will hopefully build his AVG against. In game 2 and 3 he will be facing Snell and Faria for the first time and I have a feeling he is going to lay the ball down and show them why JBJ is so popular with the Sox. In game 4 against Eovaldi he is batting a high .333 going against him 6 times with 2 H, 1 HR, 1 RBI, and 2 K's. The same with game 1, if he can avoid the K he will look god coming out of the four game series.
After so much information going into these 4 games, I get a comfortable feeling that the Red Sox have a very good chance of coming out undefeated. We have a powerful batting order and terrifying pitchers on the mound and a good defense in the field. This is our year to go hard and go far and with these soldiers out on the field, I think it's high time the we collect ourselves another World Series trophy.
"This is the Place to be"
All stats come from MLB.com, rotowire.com, espn.com, and baseball-reference.com
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