A day after missing his start in the Red Sox lineup due to back stiffness, Gonzalez will bat fourth as the Red Sox look to take a series win over their American League East foes, the Tampa Bay Rays, on Sunday.
Jacoby Ellsbury will be batting leadoff again as he eases back into an everyday role for the team, and Pedro Ciriaco continues to fill in for Dustin Pedroia at second base. After a blistering few games, Ciriaco was 0-for-4 on Saturday night for the Sox, but he can still be a sparkplug in the lineup.
David Ortiz, who has quietly been patching together another hot stretch at the plate, is batting third. He is hitting .429 in a season-high nine-game hitting streak.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia will be behind the plate to catch Josh Beckett (4-7, 4.43 ERA). Beckett has been stellar against the Rays twice this season, and he'll need a good outing as Tampa Bay is sending one of its best to the mound in James Shields (8-5, 4.17 ERA). Historically, Beckett has been great against the Rays — he leads the major leagues with a 2.46 ERA against Tampa Bay since 2007 and hasn't lost to the Rays in nine straight starts.
Check out the complete lineups for Saturday afternoon's game:
Red Sox (44-44)
Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Daniel Nava LF
David Ortiz DH
Adrian Gonzalez 1B
Cody Ross RF
Jarrod Saltalamacchia C
Will Middlebrooks 3B
Mike Aviles SS
Pedro Ciriaco 2B
Josh Beckett P
Rays (46-42)
Will Rhymes 2B
Carlos Pena 1B
Ben Zobrist RF
B.J. Upton CF
Hideki Matsui DH
Jeff Keppinger 3B
Desmond Jennings LF
Jose Lobaton C
Elliot Johnson SS
James Shields P
