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Farrell leaning towards Betts hitting 3rd in Red Sox lineup

Jasen Vinlove / Reuters

When the Boston Red Sox take the field against the Pittsburgh Pirates to open their regular season on April 3, Mookie Betts may be the player relied on to hit third in his team's lineup.

Red Sox manager John Farrell is leaning towards having Betts bat in the three-hole instead of fourth to start the season, according to MLB.com's Ian Browne.

With the retirement of David Ortiz, the Red Sox lineup was absent a clean-up hitter. Although Betts was, and could still be, the player to fill the spot, it appears Hanley Ramirez will hit fourth, following lead-off man Dustin Pedroia, Andrew Benintendi and Betts, respectively.

Projected Lineup

ORDER PLAYER HITS
1 Dustin Pedroia Right
2 Andrew Benintendi Left
3 Mookie Betts Right
4 Hanley Ramirez Right
5 Mitch Moreland Left
6 Xander Bogaerts Right
7 Jackie Bradley Jr. Left
8 Pablo Sandoval Switch
9 Sandy Leon Switch

Farrell had apparently considered positioning the left-handed hitting Benintendi third to break up the righties in the Red Sox lineup, but it appears he prefers Betts in the spot.

"This was the dilemma with David Ortiz hitting three or four a year ago or previous years. You're looking for your most complete hitter - or your most productive hitter - to come up in that first inning," Farrell said. "And in that case right now, that would be Mookie. There's some balance to all that."

The 24-year-old Betts was arguably the Red Sox best hitter last season, batting .318/.363/.534 with 42 doubles, 31 home runs, and 113 RBIs on his way to a second-place finish in American League MVP voting behind Mike Trout.

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