Red Sox's Mookie Betts: Will remain leadoff hitter

Manager Alex Cora said he's leaving Betts in the leadoff spot, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald reports.

Cora addressed the notion of having Betts drop down in the batting order so that he could be given more at-bats with runners on base. He's among the league leaders with 18 home runs, but there are 35 players with more than Betts' 38 RBI. The manager is sticking by his decision to have Betts atop the order, an entirely defensible position, as Boston's offense is second only to the Yankees with 5.13 runs per game. Cora also said he's not going to shake up the weak bottom part of the order, so Betts' RBI total will continue to be less than it would be if he were in the middle of the order.