It's the rubber game of the first Red Sox - Yankees matchup of the year, but at this point, the Red Sox are just hoping to get their second win of the season.
To do that, they will have to get past Yankees ace C.C. Sabathia, making his third start in 2011. As one of the toughest lefties in the game, Sabathia is something of a nightmare opponent for the Red Sox, and their lefty heavy lineup. To combat that, the Sox have removed Jacoby Ellsbury--who is a career 1-for-13 against Sabathia--with Mike Cameron. Jason Varitek will also be getting the start in place of Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
Boston Red Sox
- Carl Crawford, LF
- Dustin Pedroia, 2B
- Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
- Kevin Youkilis, 3B
- David Ortiz, DH
- Mike Cameron, CF
- J.D. Drew, RF
- Jason Varitek, C
- Marco Scutaro, SS
One notable omission is Jed Lowrie, who might be expected to get a start against the southpaw. But with Marco Scutaro holding an OBP over .400 against Sabathia, it doesn't make much sense to remove him from the lineup.
Josh Beckett, meanwhile, will have the unenviable task of trying to keep a Yankees lineup that mashed four homers Saturday from doing the same Sunday.
New York Yankees
- Brett Gardner, LF
- Derek Jeter, SS
- Mark Teixeira, 1B
- Alex Rodriguez, 3B
- Robinson Cano, 2B
- Nick Swisher, RF
- Jorge Posada, DH
- Curtis Granderson, CF
- Russell Martin, C