BOSTON — Kelly Shoppach will be starting behind the plate in the Red Sox' home opener on Friday.
And the move was by design. Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine said Shoppach's familiarity with the Rays — he played for them the last two seasons — and ability to hit left-handers gave him the nod over starter Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
"His swings have been on but off," Valentine said of Saltalamacchia. "He's fouling off pitches down the LF side most of the time. He's hit three balls real hard that have been caught. He could be hitting .300 if we were caring about his early-season batting average. He's doing fine. This isn't about Salty today."
Here are the lineups.
Red Sox
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Kevin Youkilis, 3B
David Ortiz, DH
Darnell McDonald, LF
Cody Ross, RF
Mike Aviles, SS
Kelly Shoppach, C
Josh Beckett, P
Tampa Bay
Desmond Jennings, CF
Carlos Pena, 1B
Evan Longoria, 3B
Matt Joyce, LF
Ben Zobrist, RF
Jeff Keppinger, 2B
Stephen Vogt, DH
Jose Molina, C
Reig Brignac, SS
David Price, P
