Daniel Nava will get his first rest in a month, and Jonny Gomes will take his place in left field as the Red Sox try to put a stop to their recent woes against the Orioles. The teams continue their series in Baltimore at Camden Yards on Saturday afternoon.
The rest is long-awaited for Nava, who hasn’t taken a game off since May 14 against Tampa Bay, and it opens the door for Gomes to return to the starting lineup for the first time in a week. The outfielder has struggled in his first season in Boston, hitting just .205 with three home runs and 12 RBIs in 50 games for the Red Sox, but he’ll be fresh Saturday after a week where he had just three at-bats in pinch-hitting situations.Â
Mike Carp will start again at first base for Mike Napoli, who is back in Boston getting checked out after he had to leave Thursday night’s game with an illness. Stephen Drew will get the start at shortstop after a day off, and Jose Iglesias will return to the hot corner.
John Lackey gets the nod for the Red Sox on the hill, and he’ll look to bounce back from a rough outing on Monday night in Tampa Bay where he gave up four runs on 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings, earning a no-decision in a 10-8 Red Sox win. For the season, Lackey is 3-5 with a 3.14 ERA. He’ll go against Orioles starter Freddy Garcia, who is 3-3 with a 4.47 ERA this season.
See the full starting lineups for both teams below.
Boston Red Sox (41-28)
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Shane Victorino, RF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Mike Carp, 1B
Jonny Gomes, LF
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
Stephen Drew, SS
Jose Iglesias, 3B
John Lackey, RHP
Baltimore Orioles (39-29)
Nate McLouth, LF
Manny Machado, 3B
Nick Markakis, RF
Adam Jones, CF
Chris Davis, 1B
Matt Wieters, DH
J.J. Hardy, SS
Ryan Flaherty, 2B
Taylor Teagarden, C
Freddy Garcia, RHP
