Red Sox vs. Orioles: Jonny Gomes starts in left as Sox go for first win

Jonny Gomes will make his first start of the season, replacing Mike Carp in left field as the Red Sox try to rebound from an Opening Day loss against the Orioles.

Boston Red Sox (0-1)

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

Starting Pitcher -- John Lackey

Baltimore Orioles (1-0)

1. Nick Markakis, RF
2. David Lough, LF
3. Adam Jones, CF
4. Chris Davis, 1B
5. Nelson Cruz, DH
6. Matt Wieters, C
7. J.J. Hardy, SS
8. Ryan Flaherty, 3B
9. Steve Lombardozzi, 2B

Starting Pitcher -- Ubaldo Jimenez

And so the "Jonny Gomes vs. righties" saga begins enough. Frustratingly enough, right on the heels of a game where Gomes was not used in a late-game situation which certainly seemed to call for him. It didn't hurt the Red Sox enough to keep them from winning it all last year, and even against a righty Gomes is not useless. But it's hardly optimal to have his glove in when it's not backed up by either his huge splits vs. lefties, or the benefit of getting Sizemore a game off.

At the very least, Lackey is not the worst pitcher to have Gomes behind him. At least not last year's Lackey, who managed to keep the ball on the ground and strike batters out with some regularity. Hopefully that's the same Lackey we get now--a good first outing will go a long way towards settling any nerves in that department.

First pitch is at 7:05 with broadcasts on NESN and WEEI.