Boston Red Sox outfielder Masataka Yoshida is in left field and hitting cleanup on Opening Day against right-hander Kyle Gibson and the Baltimore Orioles.
Yoshida is beginning his MLB career in the cleanup spot for Boston. Alex Verdugo is leading off and fellow lefty hitter Triston Casas is batting sixth. Raimel Tapia will be available off the bench and Adalberto Mondesi (knee) is starting the season on the injured list. Here's the full lineup: Verdugo (RF), Rafael Devers (3B), Justin Turner (DH), Yoshida (LF), Adam Duvall (CF), Casas (1B), Christian Arroyo (2B), Reese McGuire (C), Enrique Hernández (SS).
numberFire's models project Yoshida ($2,900) for 8.9 FanDuel points on Opening Day. Per our MLB Heat Map, the Red Sox have the third-highest implied total (4.37) on the board today and the game total is tied for the highest at 8.5. Gibson had a 4.66 xFIP, 16.8% strikeout rate, and 8.4% walk rate against left-handed hitters last season.
Source: Baseball Press