The Red Sox and Rays clash in St. Petersburg tonight with first place in the AL East on the line and, for the Sox, Nathan Eovaldi on the mound (6:10 p.m., NESN).
Last night’s start to the series was inauspicious, with Martín Pérez being knocked around shortly after the Sox eschewed the opportunity to add a starting pitcher at the deadline. Eovaldi, Boston’s best pitcher this year, looks to even out the series on the mound against Tampa Bay’s Ryan Yarbrough, whose ERA is nearly a full run higher than Nasty Nate.
Jarren Duran gets the day off as his early struggles continue, and Rafael Devers bats second.