BOSTON — Daniel Nava will make his fifth straight start for the Red Sox and bat in a new spot, holding down the eight-hole when the club hosts the Arizona Diamondbacks in the finale of a three-game set Thursday.
Nava has gone 5-for-11 in three starts in the No. 9 spot and was hitless in his lone game at leadoff. He, Darnell McDonald and Marco Scutaro are the only three Boston starters who have not faced Diamondbacks righty Dan Haren.
The rest have had mixed results.
While Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis and J.D. Drew are a combined 2-for-23 against Haren, others have hurt him.
Adrian Beltre is a .410 (16-for-39) hitter with six doubles and two homers off Haren. Victor Martinez is 7-for-13 with one home run and David Ortiz is 4-for-13 with a round-tripper and one of his 14 career triples.
The Diamondbacks have shuffled things up on their end. Mark Reynolds, who is 0-for-7 with five strikeouts in the series, will bat seventh for the first time this year. Adam LaRoche, who often hits cleanup or fifth, is batting sixth.
Here are the complete lineups for both teams:
Red Sox
Marco Scutaro, SS
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Kevin Youkilis, 1B
Victor Martinez, C
J.D. Drew, RF
Adrian Beltre, 3B
Daniel Nava, LF
Darnell McDonald, CF
Diamondbacks
Kelly Johnson, 2B
Stephen Drew, SS
Justin Upton, RF
Miguel Montero, C
Chris Young, CF
Adam LaRoche, 1B
Mark Reynolds, 3B
Gerardo Parra, LF
Rusty Ryal, DH
