The Boston Red Sox escaped a blowout victory against the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night, but returned right-handed hitter Tyler O’Neill to the lineup for Saturday night’s game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

O’Neill was hospitalized twice recently, first for a stomach ailment and then again at Mass General Hospital for a leg infection that kept him out of action for more than a week. The 29-year-old returned to the Boston locker room on Wednesday to undergo pregame routines before the team arrived in Baltimore to begin its four-game weekend series. Red Sox manager Alex Cora felt O’Neill had improved well enough to be considered for the series against the division rival, and that’s exactly what happened.

Cora inserted O’Neill into the starting lineup, having the two-time Gold Glove Award winner start as the third batter in left field. Rob Refsnyder, who filled in for rookie Wilyer Abreu earlier in the series, also returned to the lineup to bat second and play right field, with the Orioles sending left-hander Cade Povich to the field. However, this reinforcement in the outfield required the team to make a rather unexpected roster change.

Boston has sent switch-hitter infielder Nick Sogard to Triple-A Worcester. The 26-year-old hit 10 of 44 passes and provided defensive reliability at second base in Sogard’s 12-game major league debut.

First pitch from Baltimore is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. ET and you can watch the game plus an hour of complete pregame coverage live on NESN.

Here are the starting lineups for the Red Sox and Orioles:

BOSTON RED SOX (64-57)
Jarren Duran, CF
Rob Refsnyder, RF
Tyler O’Neill, LF
Rafael Devers, 3B
Danny Jansen, C
Romy Gonzalez, 2B
Triston Casas, 1B
Connor Wong, DH
Ceddanne Rafaela, SS

Brayan Bello, RHP (10-5, 4.97 ERA)

BALTIMORE ORIOLES (72-51)
Colton Cowser, LF
Anthony Santander, DH
Gunnar Henderson, SS
Ryan O’Hearn, RF
Ryan Mountcastle, 1B
Jackson Holidays, 2B
Cedric Mullins, CF
Ramon Urías, 3B
James McCann, C

Cade Povich, LHP (1-5, 6.27 ERA)