PITTSBURGH – With the arrival of severe thunderstorms, the Red Sox-Pirates game was delayed after six innings with the Sox trailing, 7-3.
Fans were told to take cover in the concourses and pitchers sprinted from the bullpens for the clubhouse in advance of a downpour. Thunderstorms remain in the forecast for most of the duration of Sunday.
The Red Sox can claim a series win on Sunday in a rubber match against the Pirates in Pittsburgh.
The Sox got back to winning ways on Saturday, riding seven shutout innings from Sonny Gray to a 4-0 victory.
Patrick Sandoval has the ball for Boston on Sunday. The lefthander allowed four runs over six innings in a loss to the Blue Jays on Tuesday.
The Pirates were expected to counter with reigning Cy Young winner Paul Skenes, but the star righthander was scratched from his start. Skenes has had a middling year with a 3.88 ERA after posting sub-2.00 marks in each of his first two seasons.
Pittsburgh will instead turn to righty Lake Bachar, recently acquired from the Marlins, in what’s expected to be a bullpen game.
First pitch is set for 1:35 p.m. in Pittsburgh and on NESN. Here’s a preview.
Lineups
RED SOX (66-57): Sogard 1B, Rafaela CF, Abreu RF, Rutschman DH, Durbin 3B, Monasterio SS, Duran LF, Seigler 2B, Wong C
Pitching: LHP Patrick Sandoval (1-1, 3.30 ERA)
PIRATES (60-65): Triolo SS, Valdez RF, Reynolds DH, Lowe 2B, Flores Jr. 1B, Mangum LF, Yorke 3B, Cook CF, Davis C
Pitching: RHP Lake Bachar (1-2, 3.97 ERA)
Time: 1:35 p.m.
TV, radio: NESN, WEEI-FM 93.7
Red Sox vs. Bachar: Willson Contreras 1-2, Caleb Durbin 0-1, Ceddanne Rafaela 0-1, Anthony Seigler 0-1, Eli White 0-1
Pirates vs. Sandoval: Brandon Lowe 1-3, Bryan Reynolds 0-3, Jared Triolo 0-3
Stat of the day: Skenes’s average fastball velocity has dropped to 96.8 miles per hour after averaging 98.2 last season and 98.8 as a rookie, per MLB’s Statcast.
Notes: Masataka Yoshida left Saturday’s win in the third inning with left hamstring tightness. The injury occurred when Yoshida was running in his bid for a double. He was placed on the injured list Sunday, along with reliever Justin Slaten, who was sidelined by right elbow soreness. ... Roman Anthony, Trevor Story, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa are all about to start rehab assignments. “Obviously, we’ve still got to get them through the rehab outings,” Boston interim manager Chad Tracy said. “It’s a combination of, physically getting them right, feeling good, and also accumulating some at-bats. So there’s still work to be done, but having three of those guys going out and getting healthy is exciting for sure.” ... Sandoval has made one career start against Pittsburgh, pitching seven scoreless innings and allowing three hits.
Amin Touri can be reached at amin.touri@globe.com. Alex Speier can be reached at alex.speier@globe.com. Follow him @alexspeier.