Jacoby Ellsbury‘s early-season slump that had manager John Farrell considering moving the leadoff hitter down in the order seems to be a distant memory for Red Sox fans.
Ellsbury — who was hitting a subpar .240 through May 20 — has raised his batting average to .299 and is in the midst of a 12-game hit streak. The center fielder notched two more hits in Tuesday’s contest against the Padres, and is 21-for-51 (.412) during the run. Ellsbury is not the only one who has been hitting the ball well, though, as the Sox are averaging 5.9 runs and 11.7 hits over their last seven games.
Mike Carp will take over first base duties for Mike Napoli, who will get the night off after going 0-3 on Tuesday. Carp will hit in the No. 6 hole, followed by Jarrod Saltalamacchia and third baseman Brandon Snyder. Snyder will continue to play third base while Jose Iglesias mans shortstop with Stephen Drew recovering from a hamstring injury.
Jon Lester will take the mound for the Sox and hopes to add to San Diego’s four-game losing streak. Padres manager Bud Black has Carlos Quentin and Chase Headley hitting third and fourth, respectively, with hopes of adding some power to a lineup that has been struggling to score runs.
Check out the starting lineups for both teams below.
Boston Red Sox (51-34)
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Shane Victorino, RF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Daniel Nava, LF
Mike Carp, 1B
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
Brandon Snyder, 3B
Jose Iglesias, SS
Jon Lester, LHP
San Diego Padres (40-44)
Logan Forsythe, 2B
Chris Denorfia, RF
Carlos Quentin, DH
Chase Headley, 3B
Kyle Blanks, LF
Jesus Guzman, 1B
Yasmani Grandal, C
Pedro Ciriaco, SS
Alexi Amarista, CF
Edinson Volquez, RHP
