Sometimes after a bad start like the Red Sox have endured—a heartbreaker Thursday, a blowout Saturday—a shakeup is in order. Sometimes that shakeup can bring life to a team.
Other times, it puts bad bats at the top of the lineup and pits platoon players against the wrong pitcher. Sunday is one of those times, as Bobby Valentine has submitted one bizarre lineup to play against Max Scherzer.
Boston Red Sox (0-2)
- Nick Punto, 3B
- Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
- Dustin Pedroia, 2B
- Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
- David Ortiz, DH
- Darnell McDonald, LF
- Ryan Sweeney, RF
- Mike Aviles, SS
- Kelly Shoppach, C
That’s the worst bat on the team batting leadoff, Shoppach who hit something like .100 against righties last year in against Max Scherzer, and Darnell McDonald sixth.
The Tigers, of course, have no real reason to switch things up after Saturday’s beatdown, and so we see more of the same as they prepare to take on Clay Buchholz.
Detroit Tigers (2-0)
- Austin Jackson, CF
- Brennan Boesch, RF
- Miguel Cabrera, 3B
- Prince Fielder, 1B
- Delmon Young, DH
- Alex Avila, C
- Jhonny Peralta, SS
- Andy Dirks, LF
- Ryan Raburn, 2B
Who knows? Maybe the Red Sox break through today. Maybe Punto goes 5-for-5 and McDonald brings four men in. But outside of a random gamble on dumb luck, it’s hard to make much sense of this one.
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