Red Sox take on Jacob deGrom and the Texas Rangers to kick off final road trip of the season

The Red Sox enter tonight with a record of 82-68. Meanwhile, the Texas Rangers enter tonight with a record of 74-76. However, thanks to a combination of MLB’s far too bloated playoff system and a wretched AL West, this game has much, MUCH higher playoff implications for the Rangers than it does for the Red Sox.

Texas finds itself just a game off their division lead (and 1.5 out of the third Wild Card spot) while the Red Sox are virtually locked into the second Wild Card spot (unless something historical happens). There’s something about this entire dynamic that just doesn’t sit well with me as the daylight grows shorter and we approach the playoffs, but alas, it’s what we’ve got.

As far as a tune up is concerned though, this game still means something to the Red Sox in terms of getter guys hot and the lineup clicking all at once. So on that note, here’s the lineup that will be facing Jacob deGrom this evening, and outside of missing Ceddanne Rafaela (who is still on the IL), it’s starting to look closer and closer to what the Sox might roll out there for Game 1 of the Wild Card series two weeks from tonight.