Tampa Bay Rays vs Boston Red Sox Starting Lineup — Friday, Jul 17, 2026
Final Lineups
Tampa Bay Rays @ Boston Red Sox · Friday, Jul 17, 2026
| # | Batter | AVG | OBP | OPS | HR | RBI | vAVG | vOPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yandy Díaz | 0.314 | 0.391 | 0.870 | 13 | 55 | 0.400 | 0.733 |
| 2 | Jonathan Aranda | 0.291 | 0.389 | 0.850 | 14 | 64 | 0.167 | 0.334 |
| 3 | Junior Caminero | 0.281 | 0.372 | 0.931 | 29 | 60 | 0.400 | 0.900 |
| 4 | Ryan Vilade | 0.255 | 0.319 | 0.774 | 7 | 31 | 0.200 | 0.367 |
| 5 | Jonny DeLuca | 0.254 | 0.291 | 0.707 | 5 | 27 | 0.000 | 0.500 |
| 6 | Chandler Simpson | 0.276 | 0.312 | 0.648 | 0 | 17 | — | — |
| 7 | Ben Williamson | 0.249 | 0.316 | 0.648 | 2 | 23 | 0.250 | 0.500 |
| 8 | Taylor Walls | 0.216 | 0.311 | 0.597 | 0 | 21 | 0.500 | 1.000 |
| 9 | Nick Fortes | 0.254 | 0.299 | 0.634 | 2 | 19 | 0.750 | 2.000 |
| # | Batter | AVG | OBP | OPS | HR | RBI | vAVG | vOPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anthony Seigler | 0.268 | 0.344 | 0.771 | 2 | 7 | — | — |
| 2 | Ceddanne Rafaela | 0.279 | 0.325 | 0.758 | 8 | 40 | 0.500 | 1.000 |
| 3 | Wilyer Abreu | 0.263 | 0.334 | 0.777 | 13 | 46 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 4 | Caleb Durbin | 0.239 | 0.303 | 0.702 | 9 | 40 | 1.000 | 2.000 |
| 5 | Masataka Yoshida | 0.269 | 0.344 | 0.747 | 4 | 17 | 0.000 | 0.500 |
| 6 | Romy Gonzalez | 0.214 | 0.298 | 0.655 | 1 | 5 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 7 | Jarren Duran | 0.193 | 0.256 | 0.602 | 13 | 48 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 8 | Carlos Narváez | 0.203 | 0.269 | 0.566 | 3 | 9 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 9 | Tsung-Che Cheng | 0.303 | 0.368 | 0.701 | 0 | 5 | — | — |
Tampa Bay Rays at Boston Red Sox (2026-07-17). Griffin Jax vs Jake Bennett at Fenway Park.
Starters — Griffin Jax enters with a 3.47 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, and 70 IP. He has missed bats at a 9.13 K/9 clip, with a 3.21 BB/9 and 1.54 HR/9, so the strikeout upside is clear but the home run rate remains a pressure point. Over his last three starts, he has allowed 7 earned runs across 16 innings with 18 strikeouts and 5 walks. That includes a 5 IP, 1 ER outing on July 11, a 10-strikeout game on July 6, and a steady 6 IP, 3 ER line on June 30. The recent form points up. Jake Bennett has been sharper by run prevention metrics, carrying a 2.64 ERA and 0.94 WHIP over 47.2 IP. His 6.61 K/9 is modest, but he has paired it with elite control at 1.51 BB/9 and strong contact management at 0.57 HR/9. In his last three starts, he has worked 21 innings and allowed just 3 earned runs, with 13 strikeouts against 3 walks. He threw 7 scoreless innings on July 8, followed by 7.2 innings with 2 earned runs on July 3 and 6.1 innings with 1 earned run on June 27. The listed trend is down, but the recent game log still shows excellent efficiency and command.
Teams — Tampa Bay brings the stronger offensive profile on this data set, posting a .735 OPS, .259 average, and 425 runs scored. The Rays also back that with a solid 3.80 team ERA and 1.17 WHIP, though they are only 5-5 over their last 10 games. Boston’s offense has been lighter overall at a .701 OPS, .243 average, and 385 runs, but the pitching staff has been slightly better with a 3.59 ERA. The Red Sox WHIP sits at 1.22, a bit higher than Tampa Bay’s, yet their current form stands out at 9-1 over the last 10 games. From a betting angle, this sets up as Tampa Bay’s stronger season-long lineup against Boston’s better recent momentum and a starter who has limited traffic consistently.