Dustin Pedroia Batting Third, Carl Crawford Batting Second Against Indians

by Tony Lee on Tue, Apr 5, 2011 at 3:30PM

Red Sox manager Terry Francona is switching things up as the Red Sox prepare to take on the Indians in Cleveland.

The most noteworthy move was sliding Dustin Pedroia into the No. 3 hole and bumping Carl Crawford – who batted in the No. 3 and No. 7 slots over the weekend in Texas — into the second slot behind leadoff hitter Jacoby Ellsbury. Crawford was 0-for-7 with four strikeouts batting third, but got his first two hits and first RBI in a Red Sox uniform on Sunday while batting seventh.

The red-hot David Ortiz will be in the No. 6 slot behind Kevin Youkilis while Adrian Gonzalez bats cleanup.

Also somewhat surprising is the fact that Jarrod Saltalamacchia gets his fourth straight start behind the dish. Many felt that Jason Varitek would make his 2011 debut and be paired with starter Josh Beckett, but Francona may be saving Varitek for Wednesday's starter, Daisuke Matsuzaka.

Matsuzaka had many of his best innings this spring with Varitek behind the plate and has often had more success throwing the the captain.

Check out the Sox lineup below.

Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Carl Crawford, LF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Kevin Youkilis, 3B
David Ortiz, DH
J.D. Drew, RF
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
Marco Scutaro, SS

Here's how the Indians will start against Beckett.

Michael Brantley, CF
Asdrubal Cabrera, SS
Shin-Shoo Choo, RF
Carlos Santana, C
Travis Hafner, DH
Orlando Cabrera, 2B
Austin Kearns, LF
Matt LaPorta, 1B
Jack Hannahan, 3B