Red Sox's Rafael Devers: Dropped to sixth in order

Devers, who batted third on Opening Day, was dropped to sixth for Friday's game, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald reports.

With Boston facing a second straight left-handed starter, this looks like a demotion for Devers, who went 1-for-5 with two strikeouts and three left on base Thursday. Manager Alex Cora acknowledged that Devers will bat lower against left-handers but will still hit third against right-handers going forward. "I told him, 'this is nothing against you. It's just the way we might go with all the righties we have,'" said Cora. J.D. Martinez batted third Friday, but eventually it will be Steve Pearce (calf) against lefties.