The Boston Red Sox have 12 games left in this season, and they have to treat every single one of them as a must-win scenario.

On Tuesday, Boston kicks off a three-game set with the Athletics, who they took two of three from last week on the West Coast. The opening game has turning point potential, as rookie starting pitcher Connelly Early will take the ball for a rematch with the team he shut down in his debut last week.

But before the game could get underway, manager Alex Cora had a very intriguing lineup wrinkle for the A’s and lefty starter Jeffrey Springs.

Sep 9, 2025; West Sacramento, California, USA; Boston Red Sox left fielder Jarren Duran (16) hits a double during the sixth inning against the Athletics at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images / Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

Boston announced its lineup on Tuesday afternoon, and left fielder Jarren Duran is batting eighth for the first time all season behind seven straight righties. In fact, as was pointed out by Chris Cotillo of MassLive, it’s the first time Duran has batted eighth since May 12 of last season.

Duran has struggled mightily against lefties this season, and unlike a year ago, he’s been relegated to the bench on a few occasions with southpaws on the mound lately. He came off the bench on Saturday when the New York Yankees started lefty Max Fried and wound up hitting a pinch-hit home run against righty reliever Fernando Cruz.

Against lefties this season, Duran owns a .581 OPS in 209 plate appearances. Against righties, it’s an .877 mark in 433 plate appearances, numbers befitting of the All-Star he was a year ago.

The Red Sox scored five earned runs against Springs last Tuesday, as lefty killers Romy Gonzalez and Rob Refsnyder both tagged him for first-inning home runs. Duran went 1-for-3 with a double and a strikeout, batting fifth in the lineup that evening.

Having Duran batting eighth could pay huge dividends if and when he’s able to reach base (something he’s obviously struggled quite a bit to do against southpaws). He and nine-hitter Ceddanne Rafaela could wreak havoc on the basepaths in front of Gonzalez and Alex Bregman at the top of the order.

First pitch from Fenway Park is at 6:45 p.m. ET.

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