Jackie Bradley Jr. earned his spot on the Red Sox roster, and he’ll waste no time in trying to prove he belongs in the bigs. He’ll be in the Boston lineup on Opening Day against the rival New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.
The 22-year-old will be the youngest Red Sox outfielder to start on Opening Day since Dwight Evans did it at the age of 21 in 1973. Furthermore, Bradley will be the club’s youngest Opening Day left fielder since some guy named Carl Yastrzemski did so as a 21-year-old in 1961.
Bradley hit .419 with two home runs and 12 RBIs in spring training, and he was second in all of baseball with a .507 on-base percentage during the spring.
He won’t be the only player making his Red Sox debut. While Mike Napoli has been around the block a few more times than Bradley, the first baseman will make his Red Sox debut Monday afternoon. He’s no stranger to the Yankees, though, and he’s had a good amount of success in his career against New York. Napoli is a career .323 (30-for-93) hitter with five home runs and 19 RBIs in his career against the Yankees. In 24 career at-bats at Yankee Stadium, Napoli is hitting .375 with a pair of home runs and six RBIs.
Here are the Opening Day starting lineups.
Red Sox
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Shane Victorino, RF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Mike Napoli, 1B
Will Middlebrooks, 3B
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
Jonny Gomes, DH
Jackie Bradley, Jr., LF
Jose Iglesias, SS
Jon Lester, P
Yankees
Brett Gardner, CF
Eduardo Nunez, SS
Robinson Cano, 2B
Kevin Youkilis, 1B
Vernon Wells, LF
Ben Francsico, DH
Ichiro Suzuki, RF
Jayson Nix, 3B
Francisco Cervelli, C
CC Sabathia, P
