Boston Red Sox vs Pittsburgh Pirates Starting Lineup — Sunday, Aug 16, 2026
Final Lineups
Boston Red Sox @ Pittsburgh Pirates · Sunday, Aug 16, 2026
Ceddanne Rafaela, Caleb Durbin, and Anthony Seigler are the only hitters in the lineup who have previously stepped into the box against Lake Bachar, with each going hitless at 0-for-1 with a .000 OPS across one plate appearance. The majority of the batting order features no past Major League experience against the right-hander, as Nick Sogard, Wilyer Abreu, Adley Rutschman, Andruw Monasterio, Jarren Duran, and Connor Wong will all be facing Bachar for the very first time.
Brandon Lowe provides the most productive history against Patrick Sandoval, batting .333 with a 1.666 OPS while going 1-for-3 across three plate appearances. Jared Triolo and Bryan Reynolds have also seen Sandoval before, though both were held hitless, each going 0-for-3 with a .000 OPS over three plate appearances. The rest of the order has no prior MLB history against the left-hander, with Esmerlyn Valdez, Rafael Flores Jr., Jake Mangum, Nick Yorke, Billy Cook, and Henry Davis all preparing for their first career matchups against him.
Both lineups feature minimal track records against the opposing starters, though the home side holds a slight edge in total experience with three hitters combining for nine career plate appearances compared to just three plate appearances for the away bats.
| # | Batter | AVG | OBP | OPS | HR | RBI | vAVG | vOPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nick Sogard | 0.240 | 0.353 | 0.663 | 0 | 5 | — | — |
| 2 | Ceddanne Rafaela | 0.285 | 0.323 | 0.786 | 16 | 63 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 3 | Wilyer Abreu | 0.257 | 0.335 | 0.808 | 22 | 65 | — | — |
| 4 | Adley Rutschman | 0.239 | 0.327 | 0.736 | 8 | 47 | — | — |
| 5 | Caleb Durbin | 0.252 | 0.322 | 0.727 | 12 | 60 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 6 | Andruw Monasterio | 0.265 | 0.327 | 0.764 | 6 | 35 | — | — |
| 7 | Jarren Duran | 0.203 | 0.262 | 0.615 | 16 | 61 | — | — |
| 8 | Anthony Seigler | 0.252 | 0.321 | 0.724 | 3 | 12 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 9 | Connor Wong | 0.248 | 0.332 | 0.714 | 4 | 22 | — | — |
| # | Batter | AVG | OBP | OPS | HR | RBI | vAVG | vOPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jared Triolo | 0.243 | 0.319 | 0.634 | 2 | 24 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 2 | Esmerlyn Valdez | 0.261 | 0.374 | 0.939 | 14 | 41 | — | — |
| 3 | Bryan Reynolds | 0.264 | 0.375 | 0.810 | 15 | 65 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 4 | Brandon Lowe | 0.252 | 0.317 | 0.795 | 26 | 79 | 0.333 | 1.666 |
| 5 | Rafael Flores Jr. | 0.300 | 0.404 | 1.029 | 4 | 10 | — | — |
| 6 | Jake Mangum | 0.300 | 0.351 | 0.742 | 4 | 28 | — | — |
| 7 | Nick Yorke | 0.213 | 0.289 | 0.577 | 1 | 9 | — | — |
| 8 | Billy Cook | 0.188 | 0.204 | 0.454 | 0 | 2 | — | — |
| 9 | Henry Davis | 0.169 | 0.261 | 0.562 | 8 | 31 | — | — |
Boston Red Sox at Pittsburgh Pirates (2026-08-16). Patrick Sandoval vs Lake Bachar at PNC Park.
Patrick Sandoval owns a 1-1 record alongside a 3.30 ERA, 1.70 WHIP, and 30 innings pitched while generating 8.70 strikeouts, 3.90 walks, and 0.90 home runs per nine innings. Across his recent downward trend, his previous three outings produced lines of 6 innings, 2 earned runs, 4 strikeouts, and 3 walks; 5 innings, 2 earned runs, 5 strikeouts, and 4 walks; and 5 innings, 2 earned runs, 7 strikeouts, and 2 walks. Maintaining a 1.08 WHIP across 65.2 innings of work, Lake Bachar carries a 3.97 ERA, 1-2 record, 9.32 K/9, 3.15 BB/9, and 1.64 HR/9 into this matchup. His upward-trending prior three appearances resulted in 3 innings, 3 earned runs, 1 strikeout, and 1 walk; 2 innings, 0 earned runs, 4 strikeouts, and 0 walks; and 2 innings, 1 earned run, 2 strikeouts, and 1 walk.
Boston enters with a .722 OPS, .248 batting average, and 546 runs scored, supported by a pitching staff posting a 3.48 ERA and 1.22 WHIP, having gone 4-6 over their last ten games. Pittsburgh brings a .744 OPS, .256 batting average, and 625 runs into the contest, while their pitching staff holds a 4.32 ERA and 1.33 WHIP alongside a 3-7 mark in their past ten games.