J.D. Drew Scratched From Red Sox’ Lineup With Stiff Neck
Newly acquired Eric Patterson will make his debut with the Red Sox and play left field when the club takes on Tampa Bay in the second of two at Fenway Park on Wednesday night.
J.D. Drew was originally in the Boston lineup batting sixth, but he was scratched with a stiff neck. Darnell McDonald took his place in right field.
The 27-year-old Patterson has played left three times in his career at Fenway, all while with the Oakland A's. He has yet to see any action since being traded from Oakland to Boston on Saturday.
Patterson's start gives Daniel Nava a rest for the first time since he was called up nearly three weeks ago.
Scorching Adrian Beltre is batting fifth for the Sox. He is a .438 (6-for-17) hitter with two home runs against Rays righty Matt Garza and is batting .500 (14-for-28) vs. Tampa Bay this year.
Every other Red Sox starter has an average of .222 or less against Garza.
The shuffle in the outfield creates the 23rd different outfield rotation this year for the club.
On the other side, Rays center fielder B.J. Upton is on the bench for the second straight game since his encounter with teammate Evan Longoria in the dugout Sunday.
Here are the lineups for both teams:
1. Marco Scutaro, SS
2. Eric Patterson, LF
3. David Ortiz, DH
4. Kevin Youkilis, 1B
5. Adrian Beltre, 3B
6. Bill Hall, 2B
7. Jason Varitek, C
8. Darnell McDonald, RF
9. Mike Cameron, CF
1. Ben Zobrist, CF
2. Carl Crawford, LF
3. Evan Longoria, 3B
4. Carlos Pena, 1B
5. Matt Joyce, RF
6. John Jaso, DH
7. Sean Rodriguez, 2B
8. Kelly Shoppach, C
9. Jason Bartlett, SS
