The Red Sox sure are giving Ryan Lavarnway a chance to get some at-bats at the major league level, and it seems pretty obvious the 25-year-old's recent consistent playing time is part of a larger audition for a regular role next season and beyond.
However, with Kelly Shoppach now out of town and Jarrod Saltalamacchia fulfilling the role of designated hitter on Sunday evening, the Sox better hope they won't need a backup catcher as they try to take this series from the rival Yankees. Lavarnway hit a couple balls hard up the middle Saturday, but some great positioning by New York second baseman Robinson Cano means that the catcher ended up with nothing to show for his efforts, going 0-for-4. Lavarnway is starting for the second consecutive game and will be batting fifth Sunday.
Aside from that, the major lineup switch of note is that Cody Ross gets the day off, and conversely Scott Podsednik will take over in right field for the evening. Pedro Ciriaco also gets another chance to showcase his Yankee-killing abilities, getting the start at shortstop.
For the Yankees, the lineup is mostly business as usual, with Eric Chavez at third base and Casey McGehee taking his at-bats as the designated hitter.
Check out the lineups for both teams, below.
Red Sox
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Carl Crawford, LF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Ryan Lavarnway, C
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, DH
Scott Podsednik, RF
Pedro Ciriaco, SS
Nick Punto, 3B
Josh Beckett, RHP
Yankees
Derek Jeter, SS
Nick Swisher, 1B
Robinson Cano, 2B
Curtis Granderson, CF
Eric Chavez, 3B
Raul Ibanez, LF
Russell Martin, C
Ichiro Suzuki, RF
Casey McGehee, DH
Hiroki Kuroda, RHP
