Farrell sticks with Lester-Ross battery

BOSTON -- With Red Sox left-hander Jon Lester on the hill for Friday's series opener against the Tigers, manager John Farrell decided to give David Ross the start behind the plate instead of A.J. Pierzynski.

"We had to look at the way Jon Lester and David Ross have paired up, and that has been consistent and effective," said Farrell.

Ross has caught six of Lester's eight starts this season. The left-hander is 4-2 with a 2.45 ERA when Ross is behind the plate compared to 0-2 and 3.86 ERA when Pierzynski is behind the dish.

Farrell expected Friday's contest to be a low scoring affair with Lester going against right-hander Max Scherzer.

"If this game goes the way we would project between two very good starters, it will be a low run game," Farrell said. "We are trying to preserve the battery between the two."

Farrell said it was a particularly difficult decision to make because of Pierzynski's success against Scherzer. He's hitting .333 (11-for-33) with one home run and seven RBIs.

"It is just noticing that over the past year or more that David and Jon have paired up and executed a game plan," Farrell said. "It has been consistent. We are looking to preserve that."

Ross caught Lester in both of his starts against the Tigers in last year's American League Championship Series. Lester allowed just three runs in 11 2/3 innings in those games.