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Red Sox Opening Day lineup: David Ortiz starts at first

Opening Day will see David Ortiz at first base as the Red Sox take on the Phillies.

By Ben Buchanan
Len Redkoles/Getty Images

The first lineup of the year is in for the Red Sox, and it's pretty much exactly as expected. Mookie Betts will lead off, David Ortiz will start at first, and Ryan Hanigan will catch Clay Buchholz as Boston kicks off the 2015 season in Philadelphia.

Boston Red Sox (0-0)

  1. Mookie Betts, CF
  2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
  3. David Ortiz, 1B
  4. Hanley Ramirez, LF
  5. Pablo Sandoval, 3B
  6. Shane Victorino, RF
  7. Xander Bogaerts, SS
  8. Ryan Hanigan, C
  9. Clay Buchholz, P

Philadelphia Phillies (0-0)

  1. Ben Revere, LF
  2. Odubel Herrera, CF
  3. Chase Utley, 2B
  4. Ryan Howard, 1B
  5. Carlos Ruiz, C
  6. Grady Sizemore, RF
  7. Cody Asche, 3B
  8. Freddy Galvis, SS
  9. Cole Hamels, P

With the Red Sox opening the season in a National League Park, Mike Napoli will have to wait for his debut at first, though a mid-game substitution seems entirely likely, particularly if the Red Sox find themselves ahead. Ideally the right-handed Napoli would not be missing a start against a left-handed pitcher, but you just don't sit David Ortiz on Opening Day.

There's no real question what this game is about. The Phillies' lineup isn't in yet (edit: until a minute after publishing, of course), but it's not an impressive bunch, filled mostly with players whose best days are behind them. They'll hope to make up for that with a big start from none other than Cole Hamels, who has been connected to the Red Sox as much as anyone since Adrian Gonzalez back in the days before 2011.

If this were spring training, we'd be talking about the Phillies highlighting Hamels and trying to get the Red Sox to pull the trigger and give up some of their top prospects. We might also be talking about the Red Sox showcasing some of their young talent--a Henry Owens or Eduardo Rodriguez--in an attempt to lure the Phillies away from the likes of Blake Swihart and Mookie Betts.

But today is Opening Day, and the games finally count again. Nobody's paying attention to trade implications. It's all about starting the season with a win.

First pitch is at 3:05 p.m. ET with broadcasts on NESN and WEEI.

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