Just two days after the same lineup was shut down by southpaw ace Ricky Romero, the Red Sox will trot out a group full of lefty-mashers Friday night as they face off against young lefty David Price in Fenway's home opener. First pitch is at 2:05 p.m. EST after about a half hour's worth of ceremonies, with coverage on NESN, MLB Network, and WEEI.
While the likes of Darnell McDonald, Cody Ross, Mike Aviles, and Kelly Shoppach were only capable of pushing across the one run on Wednesday, these games are the reason the Sox have them on the roster. With David Price featuring some pretty large splits himself, it's possible that this bunch turns out to be the Sox' saving grace today.
Perhaps most important, however, will be whether or not Kevin Youkilis can contribute to the Boston attack. Through one week of baseball it's been a real struggle for Youkilis not just to put the bat on the ball, but to make any sort of decent contact doing so. Once one of the best hitters in the game, especially off of lefties, Youkilis has looked a shell of his former self, tapping weak ground balls to infielders when he's able to do anything at all.
The Sox will just have to hope for more today.
Boston Red Sox (1-5)
- Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
- Dustin Pedroia, 2B
- Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
- Kevin Youkilis, 3B
- David Ortiz, DH
- Darnell McDonald, LF
- Cody Ross, RF
- Mike Aviles, SS
- Kelly Shoppach, C
Tampa Bay Rays (4-2)
- Desmond Jennings, CF
- Carlos Pena, 1B
- Evan Longoria, 3B
- Matt Joyce, LF
- Ben Zobrist, RF
- Jeff Keppinger, 2B
- Stephen Vogt, DH
- Jose Molina, C
- Reid Brignac, SS
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