The Boston Red Sox are set to take on the Minnesota Twins on Sunday at Target Field, as they try to avoid the sweep against the hottest team in baseball.
Boston will send Cooper Criswell to the mound for the contest, and there are a few changes to the group of guys behind him.
Here's a look at the Red Sox lineup for the series finale:
- Jarren Duran CF
- Rafael Devers DH
- Rob Refsnyder LF
- Wilyer Abreu RF
- Vaughn Grissom 2B
- Dominic Smith 1B
- Reese McGuire C
- Ceddanne Rafaela SS
- Zack Short 3B
With Garrett Cooper getting the day off, Smith moves to first base and Devers moves to designated hitter. Refsnyder, McGuire, Short and Grissom return to the lineup after not starting on Saturday.
Criswell has been great for Boston this year, appearing in four games and starting three of them. He's posted a 1.65 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP while striking out 11 in his outings. He's allowed to just one Twin to get a hit off of him - Ryan Jeffers (1-for-1 with a walk).
Minnesota will have Joe Ryan on the bump for Game 3. He's posted a 3.38 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP in his six starts this year while striking out 41. Three Red Sox have hits off of him - Devers (2-for-12), Duran (1-for-6) and McGuire (1-for-3).
With a loss, Boston will be swept for the second time this season (the first came against the Baltimore Orioles). Their record will fall to just one game over .500 (18-17). They need to get the bats going and get back to their winning ways if they want to stay in contention in the division.
