The Red Sox will go looking for their first winning streak of the season Saturday afternoon against the Rays as they send Clay Buchholz out for his second start of the season against Jeremy Hellickson. First pitch is at 4:05 p.m. EST, with broadcasts by NESN and WEEI.
Bobby Valentine has unveiled his first attempt at reforming the Red Sox' lineup without Jacoby Ellsbury, deciding to turn back to a plan that he both tried and decided against in spring training, batting Mike Aviles in the leadoff spot. Given the righty on the mound, Ryan Sweeney seems like the obvious choice, but perhaps it's best not to mess with the outfielder's success through these early days of the season, especially given how many players the leadoff spot seems to have messed up over the years in Boston.
For his part, Sweeney will get the nod in right field, with Cody Ross taking over center. It's not at all an ideal situation, but if they've got the lead late, then newly called-up Che-Hsuan Lin is a defensive monster who can run down anything hit anywhere near him.
Boston Red Sox (2-5)
- Mike Aviles, SS
- Dustin Pedroia, 2B
- Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
- Kevin Youkilis, 3B
- David Ortiz, DH
- Ryan Sweeney, RF
- Cody Ross, CF
- Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
- Darnell McDonald, LF
Tampa Bay Rays (4-3)
- Desmond Jennings, CF
- Carlos Pena, 1B
- Evan Longoria, 3B
- Matt Joyce, LF
- Ben Zobrist, RF
- Luke Scott, DH
- Jeff Keppinger, 2B
- Jose Molina, C
- Sean Rodriguez, SS