With Kevin Youkilis on the DL and David Ortiz in a walking boot, Ryan Lavarnway has been presented with the opportunity of a lifetime. Lavarnway, who has been taring up the minor league and was called up in place of Youkilis, will make his major league debut against the Kansas City Royals at 8:10 p.m. EDT on Thursday night.
Here are the lineups for both teams for tonight's games.
Boston Red Sox (74-48)
- Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
- Jed Lowrie, 3B
- Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
- Dustin Pedroia, 2B
- Josh Reddick, RF
- Carl Crawford, LF
- Ryan Lavarnway, DH
- Jason Varitek, C
- Mike Aviles, SS
Starting Pitcher: Josh Beckett (9-5, 2.40 ERA)
Kansas City Royals (51-73)
- Alex Gordon, LF
- Melky Cabrera, CF
- Billy Butler, DH
- Eric Hosmer, 1B
- Jeff Francoeur, RF
- Johnny Giavotella, 2B
- Salvador Perez, C
- Mike Moustakas, 3B
- Alcides Escobar, SS
Starting Pitcher: Luke Hochevar (8-9, 4.89 ERA)
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