Adrian Gonzalez will not find himself in right field for the first Red Sox game without the designated hitter, instead getting the start at first base as David Ortiz sits.
Boston Red Sox (44-30)
- Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
- Dustin Pedroia, 2B
- Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
- Kevin Youkilis, 3B
- Darnell McDonald, LF
- Mike Cameron, RF
- Jason Varitek, C
- Marco Scutaro, SS
- Jon Lester, P
- Jose Tabata, LF
- Chase d'Arnaud, 3B
- Andrew McCutchen
- Neil Walker, 2B
- Matt Diaz, RF
- Lyle Overbay, 1B
- Ronny Cedeno, SS
- Mike McKenry, C
- Paul Maholm, P
Pitching Matchup: Jon Lester (9-3, 3.70 ERA) vs. Paul Maholm (3-8, 3.29)
The king of tough-luck losses, Maholm has allowed four-or-more earned runs only three times in 15 starts, and has only three wins to show from it. A lefty with big splits, Maholm is perfectly suited to shut down a typical Red Sox lineup, but lacking David Ortiz and Carl Crawford, it shouldn't really be much of a consideration tonight, as Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis balance out Jacoby Ellsbury and Adrian Gonzalez in the meat of the Sox' lineup. As a soft-tosser, Maholm is also not particularly well-suited to take advantage of the slow bats of some of the Sox' older players.
Jon Lester seems to have recovered from his bad May. Though he did allow three very early homers to the Brewers, he fought back well, and has allowed seven earned over his last 20 innings, striking out 21 while walking just five. Clint Hurdle has done a decent job of stacking the lineup against him as best he can--Tabata and McCutchen have both been good against lefties, and Chase d'Arnaud has killed southpaws in Triple-A this year. But he only has so much to work with, and with Lester being a top-of-the-line AL lefty, he may be too much to handle for a weak NL lineup.