Red Sox vs. Braves lineups: Starters galore from John Farrell

The Red Sox will field a lineup that's nearly fit for April as they welcome the Atlanta Braves to JetBlue Park Friday afternoon.

Boston Red Sox (1-5)

1. Grady Sizemore, CF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. David Ortiz, DH
4. Mike Napoli, 1B
5. Jonny Gomes, LF
6. Daniel Nava, RF
7. Xander Bogaerts, SS
8. Will Middlebrooks, 3B
9. David Ross, C

Starting Pitcher -- Felix Doubront

Atlanta Braves (2-6)

1. Jason Heyward, DH
2. B.J. Upton, CF
3. Justin Upton, LF
4. Ryan Doumit, RF
5. Chris Johnson, 3B
6. Ernesto Mejia, 1B
7. Gerald Laird, C
8. Tommy La Stella, 2B
9. Ramiro Pena, SS

Starting Pitcher -- Alex Wood

Now that's a major league lineup. Aside from the absence of Shane Victorino and, likely, Jackie Bradley Jr., these could be the men who take the field on Opening Day.

By now, I think we have to assume that John Farrell is slotting Dustin Pedroia back into his old #2 spot. The Ortiz - Napoli combination logically follows, which means we've probably got three spots of the lineup locked down. The only caveat there is that we still haven't seen the lineup with Victorino present, but given how Farrell operates it seems likely he would have been slotting a replacement into the #2 spot if he expected Shane to hit there, just to get everyone accustomed to their spot in the lineup.

The rest of the lineup might be a much more fluid thing, depending mostly on the pitching matchup. A lefty on the mound? Having Victorino and Gomes bookending the 2-3-4 combo makes for a strong first five. A righty? Maybe Nava takes point with Xander or Victorino hitting fifth.

But that core? It seems to have settled in.

First pitch is at 1:05 p.m. EST with radio broadcasts down in Atlanta and, presumably, on MLB.com if you're a subscriber.