Cora Reaffirms Confidence in Rookie Leadoff Man for Twins Series

MINNEAPOLIS — On Sunday, Red Sox manager Alex Cora said he wanted to see how a new-look lineup with Roman Anthony leading off and Jarren Duran hitting third looked in game action. The returns were good enough for him to repeat the same order Monday.

Anthony, after hitting a key triple in Sunday’s win over the Dodgers, is again leading off for the Red Sox in Monday’s series opener in Minnesota. In fact, Boston is sending out the exact same lineup that beat Los Angeles, with Ceddanne Rafaela again at second base, Abraham Toro at first base and Carlos Narváez catching.

Anthony hitting first isn’t a temporary solution for Boston. Cora indicated Monday that it’s something the club plans to stick with.

“Probably (go with that) moving forward,” said Cora. “He’s done it his whole life. I feel like now, where we’re at as a team and what Jarren (Duran’s) doing offensively, too, we can be more creative hitting third.

“It gives J.D. (Duran) the freedom to be more aggressive.”

The Red Sox are at Target Field for a quick, three-game road trip ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline. The Twins began their sale Monday afternoon by shipping righty Chris Paddack — their scheduled starter for Tuesday — to the division rival Tigers. In the opener, Minnesota will send 24-year-old righty Simeon Woods Richardson to the mound. He’s the owner of a 2.14 ERA in his last seven outings dating back to June 15.

Boston will start rookie Richard Fitts, who was hit hard Tuesday night in Philadelphia (4 earned runs, 6 hits in 3 ⅓ innings) and owns a 4.86 ERA in 37 big league innings this season. The Red Sox are 4-5 since the All-Star break but their schedule is about to get easier with the Twins (under .500) followed by the scuffling Astros and Royals on the docket.

First pitch is set for 7:40 p.m. ET (6:40 local).

BOSTON RED SOX (57-50) @ MINNESOTA TWINS (50-55) · TARGET FIELD · MINNEAPOLIS, MN · GAME 108

FIRST PITCH: 7:40 p.m. ET

TV CHANNEL: NESN

RADIO: WEEI 93.7 FM

PITCHING PROBABLES: RHP Richard Fitts (1-4, 4.86 ERA) vs. RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (5-4, 4.14 ERA)

RED SOX LINEUP:

1) LF Roman Anthony

2) 3B Alex Bregman

3) CF Jarren Duran

4) SS Trevor Story

5) DH Masataka Yoshida

6) C Carlos Narváez

7) RF Wilyer Abreu

8) 2B Ceddanne Rafaela

9) 1B Abraham Toro

TWINS LINEUP:

1) DH Trevor Larnach

2) LF Willi Castro

3) SS Carlos Correa

4) 2B Kody Clemens

5) 3B Royce Lewis

6) RF Matt Wallner

7) 1B Ty France

8) C Christian Vázquez

9) CF DaShawn Keirsey Jr.