Those assumptions proved to be correct Tuesday afternoon when the Red Sox lineup was announced for the second of a three-game series in Minnesota.
Shoppach will catch and bat ninth, despite the fact that Jarrod Saltalamacchia is 7-for-13 in his last three games after going 2-for-4 with a home run in Monday's win over the Twins.
But Shoppach has numbers backing him up, too. He's owned Twins starter Nick Blackburn over his career, going 8-for-16 against Blackburn with three home runs.
Shoppach isn't the only player in the Red Sox lineup with good numbers against the Minnesota right-hander. Leadoff hitter Mike Aviles hits him at a .500 (5-for-10) clip, and David Ortiz will look to improve his .400 (4-for-10) lifetime average against Blackburn.
Beckett is 3-1 with a 3.00 ERA against the Twins in his career, including a May 9 start last year in which he took a no-decision after seven scoreless innings.
Here is the Red Sox lineup.
Red Sox (5-10)
Mike Aviles, SS
Ryan Sweeney, RF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
David Ortiz, DH
Kevin Youkilis, 3B
Cody Ross, LF
Marlon Byrd, CF
Kelly Shoppach, C
Josh Beckett, P
Twins (5-12)
Denard Span, CF
Jamey Carroll, SS
Joe Mauer, 1B
Josh Willingham, LF
Justin Morneau, DH
Ryan Doumit, C
Danny Valencia, 3B
Chris Parmelee, RF
Trevor Plouffe, 2B
Nick Blackburn, P
