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Red Sox vs. Giants: Xander Bogaerts must wait, David Ortiz plays first

Xander Bogaerts won't get a taste of the starting lineup right away, but David Ortiz won't miss a step as the Red Sox head into National League territory.

By Ben Buchanan
Len Redkoles

Xander Bogaerts is with the Red Sox but not in the lineup Monday night as they take on Tim Lincecum and the Giants in AT&T Park.

Boston Red Sox (73-53)

  1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
  2. Shane Victorino, RF
  3. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
  4. David Ortiz, 1B
  5. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
  6. Daniel Nava, LF
  7. Stephen Drew, SS
  8. Will Middlebrooks, 3B
  9. Jon Lester, P

San Francisco Giants (55-68)

  1. Andres Torres, CF
  2. Marco Scutaro, 2B
  3. Brandon Belt, 1B
  4. Buster Posey, C
  5. Hunter Pence, RF
  6. Pablo Sandoval, 3B
  7. Jeff Francoeur, LF
  8. Brandon Crawford, SS
  9. Tim Lincecum, P

So, the good news: Tim Lincecum might not be what he used to be. His 2012 season was a major disappointment for Giants fans, and while his peripherals are pretty great right now, his ERA is high in part because of an inability to strand baserunners.

Now, maybe that's just random chance. That's often what we chalk a low LOB% up to. But when you look at how Lincecum has pitched lately, it makes a certain kind of sense. When he's on, he's on, looking every bit the old Lincecum. When he's off? Six runs in six innings. Eight runs in 3.2. You get the idea.

At this point it's still pretty much impossible to figure out what to expect from Jon Lester, particularly if he's got to swing the bat. So this one might come down to hoping Lincecum woke up on the wrong side of the bed. At least until Xander Bogaerts enters the game and scores ten runs with one swing like we all know he will. Right? Right?

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