WASHINGTON — As the Red Sox hope for a bounce-back start from struggling starter Walker Buehler on Saturday afternoon, they’ll do so with a brand-new leadoff man and a different-looking lineup against the Nationals.
Third baseman Nate Eaton is leading off against lefty Mitchell Parker, marking the first time all season he has done so. The right-handed hitting Eaton has made four starts for the Sox, all at third base. Boston has Romy Gonzalez at second base and hitting second; Marcelo Mayer isn’t in the lineup. Roman Anthony is — as the right fielder — batting third. And lefty-masher Rob Refsnyder is the cleanup man and designated hitter.
“Just trying to protect Roman hitting third,” said manager Alex Cora. “Maybe they bring a righty early and we can be aggressive with pinch-hitters in that spot. Obviously, the speed factor comes into play. I had a feeling yesterday, ‘Let’s try this one’ to keep (Abraham) Toro in the lineup lower (eighth). I think that’s gonna help us. Hopefully, this works.”
Jarren Duran, who is hitting .217 with a .572 OPS against left-handed pitchers this year, is hitting seventh, the lowest he has hit since batting eighth on May 12, 2024. The hot-hitting Wilyer Abreu is not in the lineup.
Buehler said Sunday he feels like he’s fighting for his spot in the big leagues after another bad outing that left him with a 10.38 ERA over six starts dating back to May 31. With Tanner Houck and Hunter Dobbins close to returning to the big league mix, Buehler might be in jeopardy of losing his rotation turn with another bad outing. He’ll face a bad Nationals team, though, that fell to 14 games under .500 after Boston routed them in the series opener on Fourth of July.
“We need it,” said Cora. “We always talk about traction and gaining momentum. Everything starts with starting pitching. We’re playing good baseball. We had a great day yesterday. Today, we have to show up and play well again. It starts with him on the mound.”
First pitch is set for 4:05 p.m. ET.
BOSTON RED SOX (44-45) @ WASHINGTON NATIONALS (37-51) · NATIONALS PARK · WASHINGTON, DC · GAME 89
FIRST PITCH: 4:05 p.m. ET
TV CHANNEL: NESN
RADIO: WEEI 93.7 FM
PITCHING PROBABLES: RHP Walker Buehler (5-6, 6.45 ERA) vs. LHP Mitchell Parker (5-8, 4.63 ERA)
RED SOX LINEUP:
1) 3B Nate Eaton
2) 2B Romy Gonzalez
3) RF Roman Anthony
4) DH Rob Refsnyder
5) C Carlos Narváez
6) SS Trevor Story
7) LF Jarren Duran
8) 1B Abraham Toro
9) CF Ceddanne Rafaela
NATIONALS LINEUP:
1) SS CJ Abrams
2) LF James Wood
3) 2B Luis García Jr.
4) 1B Nathaniel Lowe
5) DH Josh Bell
6) 3B Brady House
7) RF Daylen Lile
8) C Keibert Ruiz
9) CF Jacob Young
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