Red Sox Face Athletics in Crucial Series at Fenway Park

BOSTON, MA — The Boston Red Sox return to action on Tuesday at 6:45 p.m. as they host the Oakland Athletics for a three-game series at Fenway Park. The Red Sox, currently holding a slim lead in the wild-card race, are eager to build momentum after a day off.

With the New York Yankees losing to the Minnesota Twins on Monday, the Sox are now just one and a half games ahead of the Houston Astros. The team has 12 games left this season and is three and a half games ahead of the Cleveland Guardians, who have heated up recently, winning nine of their last ten games.

Connelly Early, a left-handed pitcher, will start for the Red Sox. Last week, he threw five shutout innings and seeks to make a strong impact in his second career start. Early’s performance included 11 strikeouts, matching a franchise record for a debut, previously held by Don Aase since 1977.

The Athletics will counter with Jeffrey Springs, who is looking to bounce back after allowing five runs in eight hits during his last outing against Early and the Sox.

The starting lineups for the game include:

Athletics: Langeliers C, Wilson SS, Kurtz 1B, Rooker DH, Thomas RF, Hernaiz 2B, Harris 3B, Butler CF, Schuemann LF, with Springs on the mound (10-11, 4.28 ERA).

Red Sox: Gonzalez 1B, Bregman 3B, Story SS, Refsnyder DH, Narváez C, Eaton RF, Sogard 2B, Duran LF, Rafaela CF, with Early (1-0, 0.00 ERA) pitching.

Fans can catch the action on NESN and WEEI-FM 93.7.

In statistical news, Romy Gonzalez is noted for his active hitting streak of 14 consecutive games, setting him apart in the majors. The Red Sox have recently achieved 82 wins, their highest total since 2021 when they finished 92-70.

Despite their postseason hopes, the Athletics show resilience with a 28-18 record since July 24, and they have won four consecutive games. However, they will not make the playoffs this year.

The Red Sox will send Lucas Giolito (10-4, 3.31 ERA) and Brayan Bello (11-7, 3.25 ERA) to the mound on Wednesday and Thursday to complete the series.