NEW YORK — For the Red Sox to go far in October, they’ll likely need major offensive contributions from Wilyer Abreu, Masataka Yoshida and Nathaniel Lowe. Yet as a short series starts Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium, all three are on the bench .

In Game 1 of the Wild Card Series against lefty ace Max Fried and the Yankees on Monday, manager Alex Cora opted to start Nate Eaton in right field and Nick Sogard at second base with lefty-masher Rob Refsnyder, not the hot-hitting Yoshida, as the designated hitter. Boston will send out eight righties (including the switch-hitting Sogard) as well as left fielder Jarren Duran to start the game. Eaton and Sogard are not the biggest names on Boston’s 26-man roster. Yet they’ll be tasked with starting Boston’s biggest game of the season.

“We’re not

See Full Page