Red Sox manager Terry Francona has shaken things up in the finale of a season-opening series in Texas, dropping the struggling Carl Crawford to seventh in the order and giving Jed Lowrie his first start of the season at shortstop.
Crawford is 0-for-7 with four strikeouts on the young season. He has stranded several runners in scoring position. Crawford is 0-for-3 with two strikeouts against Rangers left-hander Matt Harrison, the starter Sunday afternoon against a Boston team looking to avoid a sweep.
Lowrie went 1-for-1 with a walk in his first appearance of the year Saturday. He came off the bench late to spell second baseman Dustin Pedroia but will get the start in place of shortstop Marco Scutaro in this one.
Francona has said that Scutaro will be given periodic days off in order to keep him fresh all season after a physically demanding 2010. Many of those days off will come with a lefty on the mound — Lowrie has a .324 career average and .944 OPS vs. southpaws.
Also of note is the continued rise in the lineup of red-hot Adrian Gonzalez, who takes Crawford's spot as the No. 3 hitter. Gonzalez is 5-for-9 with a double and three RBIs already. He batted fifth against left-hander C.J. Wilson in the opener Friday and was the cleanup hitter on Saturday.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia gets his third straight start behind the plate. Jason Varitek figures to get several starts vs. lefties and it is a day game after a night game, but Francona said Saturday night that he wants to get Saltalamacchia going a little bit.
Like Crawford, Saltalamacchia is 0-for-7 with four strikeouts, although Francona's intent may have just as much to do with a possible desire to give Varitek a start with Josh Beckett on the mound Tuesday in Cleveland. That would give Saltalamacchia two straight days off.
Finally, Darnell McDonald is getting his first start in right field. It is the third different starter Boston has used in that position already this year, with Mike Cameron going Friday and J.D. Drew on Saturday.
Clay Buchholz is on the mound for the Red Sox. Here is the batting order, one through nine:
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Kevin Youkilis, 3B
David Ortiz, DH
Jed Lowrie, SS
Carl Crawford, LF
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
Darnell McDonald, RF
