The Red Sox will try to slow down a rolling Athletics team Friday night as they send Aaron Cook to the mound against Brandon McCarthy. First pitch is at 10:05 p.m. EST with broadcasts on NESN and WEEI.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia will take back his place behind the plate with Aaron Cook on the mound as Ryan Lavarnway takes a seat on the bench. Lavarnway had been hitting reasonably well for the past week, but even just the 0-for-3 from Thursday's game makes his last six look relatively bad.
Mike Aviles will take over at DH despite the presence of the right-handed Brandon McCarthy on the mound. Jose Iglesias will play the role of SS, with Pedro Ciriaco standing at third, giving Aaron Cook an impressive defensive infield to work with should he be able to get his ground balls.
Boston Red Sox (62-70)
- Scott Podsednik, LF
- Dustin Pedroia, 2B
- Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
- Cody Ross, RF
- James Loney, 1B
- Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
- Mike Aviles, DH
- Pedro Ciriaco, 3B
- Jose Iglesias, SS
Oakland Athletics (73-57)
- Coco Crisp, CF
- Stephen Drew, SS
- Josh Reddick, RF
- Yoenis Cespedes, LF
- Brandon Moss, 1B
- Jonny Gomes, DH
- Josh Donaldson, 3B
- George Kottaras, C
- Cliff Pennington, 2B
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