After taking a pitch off his right knee from Yankees starter Ivan Nova on Sunday, Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek's status for Monday night's contest against Baltimore was in question. Varitek was initially penciled into the starting lineup, but he has since been scratched, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia will catch Josh Beckett in the Sox' series opener in Baltimore.
Saltalamacchia will bat eighth, while shortstop Marco Scutaro will bat ninth. Slots one through seven in the Sox order are the same as Sunday, with Jacoby Ellsbury leading off, followed by Carl Crawford, Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz, Adrian Gonzalez, Jed Lowrie and J.D. Drew.
The O's counter with their standard lineup, which features Matt Angle in the leadoff spot, followed in order by J.J. Hardy, Nick Markakis, Vladimir Guerrero and Matt Wieters. Tommy Hunter will get the start on the bump for the birds after going 6 2/3 innings against the Sox last week in Boston, drawing a no-decision.
Here are the lineups for both clubs.
Red Sox
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Carl Crawford, LF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Jed Lowrie, 3B
J.D. Drew, RF
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
Marco Scutaro, SS
Orioles
Matt Angle, LF
J.J. Hardy, SS
Nick Markakis, RF
Vladimir Guerrero, DH
Matt Wieters, C
Adam Jones, CF
Mark Reynolds, 1B
Chris Davis, 3B
Robert Andino, 2B
