Red Sox vs. Rays Lineup: Ceddanne Rafaela Moves Down

May 8, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela (3) hits a solo home run during the fourth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images

Red Sox vs. Rays Lineup: Ceddanne Rafaela Moves Down

Originally posted on Boston Red Sox on SI
By Patrick McAvoy | Last updated May 10, 2026 11:36 AM ET

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The Boston Red Sox have an intriguing Mother's Day matchup ahead of them on Sunday afternoon.

Boston will conclude its series against the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday with the first pitch scheduled for 1:35 p.m. ET. The Red Sox and Rays were originally scheduled to have a four-game series, but Mother Nature had other plans. The Red Sox and Rays were rained out on Saturday before the contest even began and will be made up in July.

The Red Sox dropped the first game of the series on Thursday night and then got back in the win column — and snapped the Rays' seven-game winning streak in the process — on Friday night. Now, Boston will go for a series win on Sunday and has an intriguing lineup to face off against Rays starter Nick Martinez.

Boston Red Sox Lineup (May 10, 2026) vs. Tampa Bay Rays

1. Jarren Duran LF
2. Willson Contreras 1B
3. Wilyer Abreu RF
4. Masataka Yoshida DH
5. Trevor Story, SS
6. Mickey Gasper C
7. Marcelo Mayer 2B
8. Ceddanne Rafaela CF
9. Caleb Durbin 3B

SP: Payton Tolle

Back at it. pic.twitter.com/kJAZeVnDVd
— Red Sox (@RedSox) May 10, 2026

Gasper got off to a pretty ridiculous start to the season down in Triple-A. Before his promotion, he was slashing .296/.429/.519 with a .947 OPS, six homers and 27 RBIs in 28 games for Triple-A Worcester. He's looking for his first base hit in the majors as a member of the Red Sox. In 2024, he played in 13 games for Boston and went 0-for-18. In 2025, he played in 45 games for the Minnesota Twins and went 15-for-95.

He's a switch-hitter and adds an intriguing element to the order. The lineup looks very similar to what the club rolled out on Friday, aside from Gasper replacing Carlos Narváez. On Friday, Ceddanne Rafaela batted sixth and Narváez batted eighth. So, the club flipped Rafaela with the catcher spot and the rest of the order is the same. Until Roman Anthony returns, this is what the fanbase should expect, outside of Narváez not in the lineup. After a tough start to the season, Duran has shown some progress at the top of the order. Contreras and Abreu have been the club's two best hitters all season to this point. Yoshida has a murky role when everyone is healthy, but continues to be a consistent on-base presence for the club.

Mayer also has been very good for the club overall lately. Rafaela is having one of the best starts to a season of his career and gives Boston a threat near the bottom of the order. Also, Durbin has finally started to turn a corner. Since April 23, Durbin has slashed .239/.300/.348 in 14 games played. That may not sound like much, but Durbin was batting .141 on the season before this recent stretch. Now, he's up to .177.

This article first appeared on Boston Red Sox on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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