Terry Francona has given his lineup another major shakeup as the Red Sox prepare to face tough left-hander David Price and the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night.
Darnell McDonald, whose OPS against lefties is nearly 60 points higher than against right-handers, will bat second for the 14th time. David Ortiz, regularly batting third or fourth of late, is dropped to fifth, a spot in which he has not hit since June 13 when the Sox faced Phillies lefty Cole Hamels.
J.D. Drew, who has never faced Price, is dropped to seventh in the order.
Price struck out 10 batters and allowed just two runs in 7 2/3 innings against Boston in Tropicana Field back on July 7. McDonald also batted second in that one and went 2-for-4 off Price before ripping an RBI double off Matt Garza, making a rare relief appearance, in the ninth.
Aside from McDonald, the Red Sox starters are a combined 6-for-38 (.158) with 12 strikeouts against Price.
Tampa Bay's lineup has not done much better when facing Boston starter Jon Lester, posting a collective .167 (5-for-30) mark against him.
Here are the complete lineups for both teams in this critical opener:
Red Sox
Marco Scutaro, SS
Darnell McDonald, CF
Victor Martinez, C
Adrian Beltre, 3B
David Ortiz, DH
Mike Lowell, 1B
J.D. Drew, RF
Jed Lowrie, 2B
Bill Hall, LF
Rays
B.J. Upton, CF
Jason Bartlett, SS
Carl Crawford, LF
Evan Longoria, 3B
Carlos Pena, 1B
Ben Zobrist, RF
Willy Aybar, DH
Sean Rodriguez, 2B
Kelly Shoppach, C
