Let's give this whole winning thing another shot. With the Yankees clearing house against Detroit, it certainly wouldn't be too bad of an idea to get going on that whole thing.
The Sox will use pretty much the same lineup as they did yesterday, with the exception of J.D. Drew taking his usual place in right field against the right-handed Lewis. Kevin Youkilis and Adrian Gonzalez will also switch places.
1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. Carl Crawford, LF
4. Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
5. Kevin Youkilis, 3B
6. David Ortiz, DH
7. J.D. Drew, RF
8. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
9. Marco Scutaro, SS
The Rangers' bunch is a little different too, with Mitch Moreland taking over first base for Mike Napoli.
1. Ian Kinsler, 2B
2. Elvis Andrus, SS
3. Josh Hamilton, LF
4. Adrian Beltre, 3B
5. Michael Young, DH
6. Nelson Cruz, RF
7. Mitch Moreland, 1B
8. Yorvit Torrealba, C
9. Julio Borbon, CF
The Red Sox are hoping for big things from starter John Lackey this year. Between a strong finish to 2010, an offseason which saw him get in better shape than he's been in in years, and a reasonably impressive spring training, there's hope that Lackey can approach the numbers that made the Sox pick him up prior to last season. But the Rangers know Lackey pretty well, and have a history of hitting him, so this might not be the best matchup to start off on.
Colby Lewis, meanwhile, will take the mound for the Rangers. And while he's arguably the superior pitcher to C.J. Wilson, who faced the Red Sox last night, the Boston batters could well find themselves having an easier time against the righty--especially Carl Crawford, whose woeful performance against last night's southpaws had many questioning his placement at third in the lineup.
Go Sox!