They now head west to Los Angeles, where they’ll face the Dodgers in a pivotal weekend series. The team announced a few lineup adjustments, most notably shifting Jarren Duran to the No. 8 spot in the batting order.
Duran, who started in left field Thursday and went 0-for-4, will keep his place in the starting lineup but drop from seventh to eighth. Interim manager Chad Tracy said the move is part of his ongoing effort to fine-tune the roster ahead of what could be a busy trade deadline.
Nick Sogard will now lead off, Ceddanne Rafaela remains in center field batting second, and Wilyer Abreu slots in right field and third. The changes continue to test Tracy’s lineup strategy, which has seen several shifts in recent weeks.
Duran’s season has been a mixed bag. He has 13 home runs and 54 RBIs but has struggled at the plate, with a .195 average and 125 strikeouts. His slugging percentage is .337, and his on-base plus slugging (OPS) sits at .589, figures that have made him a topic of trade speculation.
With Roman Anthony emerging as a more consistent option, and Rafaela and Abreu performing steadily, Duran could soon be the odd man out in the Red Sox outfield.
What the numbers show
Duran’s 125 strikeouts this season are a career high, and his .589 OPS is his lowest in a full campaign. Boston has won 25 of its last 30 games as it enters a crucial stretch against the division leaders. On Saturday, the Red Sox will continue their series with the Los Angeles Dodgers in California. They will look to build off a 9-4 victory on Friday night. The Red Sox have a .840 winning percentage in July, the best in a calendar month (minimum 20 games) in franchise history, beating out August 1950 (.800) and June 1901 (also .800). During their series with the Dodgers, news came out that the Red Sox had released Tommy Kahnle from their organization. Kahnle had been playing for their Triple-A affiliate and appeared in eight games for the Red Sox earlier this season. The 36-year-old went 0-0 with an 8.00 ERA. Kahnle was picked in the 5th round of the 2010 MLB Draft and has spent 12 seasons in the MLB with the Colorado Rockies, Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Detroit Tigers, and Red Sox. Over 464 career games, Kahnle has gone 11-19 with a 3.70 ERA. The Red Sox secured a 9-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night in the series opener at Dodger Stadium. The game took a scary turn when Red Sox slugger and All-Star Willson Contreras took a pitch directly off his helmet. Contreras entered concussion protocol, and while early reports have been encouraging, Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy still made a notable lineup change. Contreras will not be in the lineup for Game 2 of the series. Instead, Nick Sogard will start at first base in his place. The rest of the infield will feature Anthony Seigler at second base, Andruw Monasterio at shortstop, and Caleb Durbin at third base. Contreras has been one of the few Red Sox players to perform at a high level throughout the season. While Boston has caught fire over the last month, Contreras remains on pace for a career year. He earned his fourth All-Star selection, competed in the Home Run Derby, and has recorded 101 hits, 23 home runs, and 67 RBIs while slashing .288/.547/.943 across 102 games.