With left-hander Jason Vargas onthe mound for the Mariners, the Red Sox will feature right-handers Marlon Byrd and Kelly Shoppach at the bottom of their order. Switch-hitter Daniel Nava, who was a force over a four-game series against Indians right-handed pitchers, will turn around and bat right-handed against Vargas while batting seventh.
Lester and Shoppach will be paired for the third time this season. In their previous two collaborations, opposing hitters hit just .167/.241/.313/.554 against the Red Sox' Opening Day starter.
For a look at how Mariners hitters have done against Lester and the history of Red Sox hitters against Vargas, click here [1]. For complete Red Sox coverage, visit weei.com/redsox [2].
RED SOX
Aviles, SS
Pedroia, 2B
Ortiz, DH
Gonzalez, 1B
Middlebrooks, 3B
Ross, RF
Nava, LF
Byrd, CF
Shoppach. C
Lester, SP
Links:
[1] http://fullcount.weei.com/sports/boston/baseball/red-sox/2012/05/14/mondays-red-sox-mariners-matchups-jon-lester-vs-jason-vargas/
[2] http://www.weei.com/redsox
[3] http://www.weei.com/category/boston/red-sox