The Boston Red Sox secured a 4-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday night to even the series at one game apiece heading into Sunday’s finale.
Ahead of the matchup, which will feature Patrick Sandoval on the mound for Boston and Lake Bacher for the Pirates, Red Sox manager Chad Tracy made a few notable changes to his lineup card.
Red Sox Announce Adley Rutschman Decision
Masataka Yoshida has usually served as the team’s designated hitter when he’s in the lineup, but after a hamstring injury forced him to leave Saturday’s game and land on the IL, Tracy will have to get creative with how he structures his lineup each day.
Tracy will use recently acquired Adley Rutschman as the DH for Sunday’s game after Rutschman caught the first two games of the series.
Rutschman will also move down a spot in the batting order and hit cleanup, while Connor Wong will catch and bat ninth.
Red Sox 8/16
N. Sogard 1B
C. Rafaela CF
W. Abreu RF
A. Rutschman DH
C. Durbin 3B
A. Monasterio SS
J. Duran LF
A. Seigler 2B
C. Wong CP. Sandoval SP
— Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) August 16, 2026
Rutschman’s 2026 Season
Rutschman has played just four games with the Red Sox and has recorded only one hit in his first 14 at-bats.
This season, Rutschman earned his third All-Star selection and has appeared in 71 total games, batting .241 with 63 hits, eight home runs and 47 RBIs.
Red Sox Right Now
Boston is 66-57 entering Sunday’s series finale, and while they were the best team in baseball across most of July, they’ve started to cool down a bit.
That said, they’ve still managed to play themselves right back into the playoff picture and currently hold the third-best record in the American League behind the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays.
Boston Red Sox Announce Adley Rutschman Decision Before Pirates Series Finale