UPDATED: For the second straight day, Kevin Youkilis was scratched from the Red Sox lineup shortly before the start of a game. While a reason was not specified, Youkilis was scratched prior to a game against the White Sox on Sunday afternoon due to a stiff back. He had been slated to bat cleanup and play third; in his absence, Cody Ross was bumped up to the cleanup spot and Nick Punto will play third base and bat ninth.
With the Athletics featuring left-hander Tom Milone on the mound, Kelly Shoppach will catch for the second straight day. Shoppach is 2-for-12 against lefties this year, but in his career, he hits southpaws at a .271/.371/.530/.902 clip. Ryan Sweeney is out of the lineup against Milone, with Ross moving to right and Darnell McDonald getting a start in left.
Shoppach will be catching Clay Buchholz for the second time this season. The first pairing of the two came in the third game of the year, when Buchholz permitted seven runs in four innings against the Tigers.
For complete matchup information, click here [1]. For more team coverage, visit weei.com/redsox [2].
RED SOX LINEUP
Aviles, SS
Pedroia, 2B
Gonzalez, 1B
Ross, RF
Ortiz, DH
Shoppach, C
McDonald, LF
Byrd, CF
Punto, 3B
Buchholz, SP
Links:
[1] http://fullcount.weei.com/sports/boston/baseball/red-sox/2012/04/30/mondays-red-sox-as-matchups-clay-buchholz-vs-tommy-milone/
[2] http://www.weei.com/redsox
[3] http://www.weei.com/category/boston/red-sox