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Red Sox vs. Rays lineups: Clay Buchholz makes spring debut

Clay Buchholz is on the mound for the first time in 2014, with plenty of backup in the starting lineup.

By Ben Buchanan
Elsa

Clay Buchholz will be the second member of Boston's rotation to take the hill for the Red Sox this spring, getting the start Tuesday afternoon as the Sox take on their AL East rivals in the Rays.

Buchholz will have some solid support behind him. With the Red Sox on the road yesterday, most of the starters stayed home and out of game action, meaning most of the lineup is ready to go today:

Boston Red Sox (1-3)

  1. Grady Sizemore, CF
  2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
  3. David Ortiz, DH
  4. Mike Napoli, 1B
  5. Jonny Gomes, LF
  6. Xander Bogaerts, SS
  7. Will Middlebrooks, 3B
  8. Alex Hassan, RF
  9. Daniel Butler, C
Starting Pitcher -- Clay Buchholz

Tampa Bay Rays (2-1)

  1. David DeJesus, LF
  2. Yunel Escobar, SS
  3. James Loney, 1B
  4. Wil Myers, DH
  5. Matt Joyce, RF
  6. Logan Forsythe, 3B
  7. Sean Rodriguez, 2B
  8. Jose Molina, C
  9. Kevin Kiermaier, CF

Starting Pitcher -- Chris Archer

Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz, and Mike Napoli are still locked in as the 2-3-4 combo (as compared to the 3-4-5) a week into spring training. Jonny Gomes, however, is out of the leadoff spot that John Farrell had been toying with. Perhaps that's just to get Grady Sizemore more at bats, or perhaps it's a sign that Farrell has decided against what was always a strange idea to begin with.

Also of note is Daniel Butler behind the plate. With starting catcher A.J. Pierzynski rolling his ankle in Monday's loss to the Pirates and David Ross dealing with a tendon issue, the Red Sox are looking awfully thin back there. Hopefully both issues fade away over the next few days, but if not, Butler might find himself with a much bigger role than initially anticipated.

No broadcast audio or otherwise for today. We'll just have to make do.

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