The Red Sox could benefit from an opponent's injury for seemingly the first time all year Sunday night after Yankees starter A.J. Burnett was scratched from his start just hours before first pitch.
Back spasms will force the right-hander to miss his turn in the rotation and Dustin Moseley, who was scheduled to start in Monday's series finale has been pushed up to start Sunday night's contest.
The change means fans won't get to see the eagerly anticipated showdown between former Florida Marlins rotation mates in Burnett and Red Sox starter Josh Beckett. Instead, they'll see Beckett and the Sox take on Moseley, who surrendered five earned runs in 7 1/3 innings in his last start on Aug. 3 against the Blue Jays.
Phil Hughes will pitch Monday with Moseley being bumped up to Sunday night.
The Red Sox haven't seen much of Moseley, but Marco Scutaro and J.D. Drew both have two career hits off the right-hander, with one of Drew's being a home run. Collectively, the Red Sox have hit Moseley at a .275 clip.
Jacoby Ellsbury is back in the lineup for the Red Sox after getting the day off Saturday with CC Sabathia on the mound. Ellsbury is still searching for his first hit since returning from a rib injury.
While the Yankees lose Burnett, third baseman Alex Rodriguez is back in the lineup after missing Saturday's contest when he was struck with a Lance Berkman line drive in batting practice.
Here are the lineups for both teams:
Red Sox:
1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
2. Marco Scutaro, SS
3. David Ortiz, DH
4. Victor Martinez, 1B
5. J.D. Drew, RF
6. Adrian Beltre, 3B
7. Ryan Kalish, LF
8. Bill Hall, 2B
9. Kevin Cash, C
Yankees:
1. Derek Jeter, SS
2. Nick Swisher, RF
3. Mark Teixeira, 1B
4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B
5. Robinson Cano, 2B
6. Jorge Posada, C
7. Lance Berkman, DH
8. Curtis Granderson, CF
9. Brett Gardner, LF
