COMMENTARY
His hamstring strained, the starting third baseman (Rafael Devers) was headed to the disabled list for a second time in a season when the starting second baseman (Dustin Pedroia) has missed all but 11 at-bats because of injury, the starting shortstop (Xander Bogaerts) missed a couple of weeks with a cracked bone in his ankle, and Opening Day’s starting first baseman (Hanley Ramirez) was designated for assignment before the end of May.
So, the Red Sox took the field Sunday with Blake Swihart – their third-string catcher most of this season, and now their backup backstop because of an injury – making his first career start at third base.