Verdugo leading off, Yoshida hitting cleanup for Red Sox on Opening Day
BOSTON -- The Red Sox should have a pretty good offense in 2023. We'll get our first look Thursday when Boston opens its 2023 season against the Orioles at Fenway Park.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora has turned in his first lineup card of the year, and there aren't really any surprises 1-9. Here's the lineup Boston is sending out for Opening Day:
- Alex Verdugo, RF
- Rafael Devers, 3B
- Justin Turner, DH
- Masataka Yoshida, LF
- Adam Duvall, CF
- Triston Casas, 1B
- Christian Arroyo, 2B
- Reese McGuire, C
- Enrique Hernández, SS
Alex Verdugo will lead things off, at least for now. That spot will likely fluctuate for a bit, but Verdugo is getting the nod on Opening Day against Baltimore righty Kyle Gibson. Verdugo got one at-bat as Boston's leadoff hitter last season, and struck out.
He's started just 34 games as a leadoff hitter in his career, slashing .288/.341./.412. Verdugo has primarily been a No. 2 hitter in his career.
But that spot belongs to Devers. Cora said this spring that he likes Devers hitting second as a way to get the slugger as many at-bats as possible throughout the season. Last season, Devers hit in the two-hole in 103 of his 141 games, and did most of his damage out of that spot. He slashed .295/.358/.521 with 28 homers, 42 doubles, and 88 RBI overall, hitting .307 as Boston's No. 2 hitter.
He'll be protected by Justin Turner, who is making his Boston debut on Thursday. Turner will be followed by the team's biggest offseason acquisition: Japanese export Masataka Yoshida. He was initially penciled in as a potential leadoff hitter for the Red Sox, but that changed when Yoshida absolutely destroyed the ball for Japan in the World Baseball Classic.
Hopes are high for Yoshida and his sweet swing, who was a career .327 hitter over seven seasons in Japan.
Center fielder Adam Duvall will make it three straight newcomers in the heart of the Boston order, followed by promising rookie Triston Casas, who gets the start at first base. After second baseman Christian Arroyo and catcher Reese McGuire, shortstop Enrique Hernandez will finish off the order.
Hernandez spent the majority of his 2021 season at the top of the Boston order, and could return to that spot at some point this season. He spent most of his injury-plagued 2022 season at the bottom of the Red Sox lineup.
Boston is sending veteran righty Corey Kluber to the mound on Thursday. The Red Sox are looking to snap a two-game losing streak on Opening Day, with their last victory in the first game of the season coming in 2020, a 13-2 win over Baltimore at Fenway Park.
