Injury-Depleted Red Sox Lineup Includes Strange Names
Francona's lineup against Baltimore right-hander Alfredo Simon:
1. CF Jacoby Ellsbury
2. 2B Dustin Pedroia
3. DH David Ortiz
4. 1B Adrian Gonzalez
5. C Ryan Lavarnway
6. RF J.D. Drew
7. SS Marco Scutaro
8. LF Carl Crawford
9. 3B Mike Aviles
Third baseman Kevin Youkilis? Out.
Shortstop Jed Lowrie? Out.
Catchers Jason Varitek and Jarrod Saltalamacchia? Out.
Scutaro’s certainly accustomed to playing shortstop, but Aviles has started only 43 games at third base in his major-league career. And Lavarnway’s a story in himself; Tuesday night, the rookie hit the first two home runs of his career while starting behind the plate for the very first time.
Don’t feel too sorry for the Red Sox, who have four outstanding hitters in their lineup and are facing a home-prone starting pitcher with a 4.85 ERA.
