ANAHEIM, Calif. — For the middle game of the series here, the Red Sox have Marcelo Mayer playing his first game at second base.
Mayer, who had made 25 appearances at third base and two at shortstop, is being moved over to second Tuesday with Nate Eaton getting the start at second base.
There had been speculation that Mayer will take over at second base once Alex Bregman is healthy enough to reclaim his spot at third. Recently, Alex Cora said he would be comfortable having Mayer at second at any point and Tuesday’s lineup confirms it.
Facing lefty Tyler Anderson, the Red Sox have their “righthanded lineup” in place, with Rob Refsnyder, serving as the DH, leading off, and Jarren Duran dropped to sixth.
Meanwhile, a staff ace is supposed to be the kind of pitcher who can end a losing streak and with the Red Sox having dropped their last three on the West Coast, Tuesday night seems like the perfect time to have Garrett Crochet on the mound.
The lefty has been one of the best pitchers in the game. He’s allowed just one unearned run in three of his last outings.
BOSTON RED SOX (40-40) @ LOS ANGELES ANGELS (38-40) · ANGEL STADIUM · ANAHEIM, CA. · GAME 81
FIRST PITCH: 9:38 p.m. ET
TV CHANNEL: NESN
RADIO: WEEI 93.7 FM
PITCHING PROBABLES: LHP Garrett Crochet (7-4, 2.20 ERA) vs. LHP Tyler Anderson (2-5, 4.56 ERA)
RED SOX LINEUP:
1) DH Rob Refsnyder
2) RF Roman Anthony
3) 1B Romy Gonzalez
4) C. Carlos Narvaez
5) LF Jarren Duran
6) SS Trevor Story
7) CF Ceddanne Rafaela
8) 2B Marcelo Mayer
9) 3B Nate Eaton
LOS ANGELES ANGELS LINEUP:
1) SS Zach Neto
2) 3B Luis Rengifo
3) DH Mike Trout
4) LF Taylor Ward
5) C Logan O’Hoppe
6) CF Jo Adell
7) RF Gustavo Campero
8) 1B LaMonte Wade Jr.
9) 2B Christian Moore