Jed Lowrie will make his 2010 debut for the Red Sox and bat second behind Darnell McDonald when the club takes on Oakland on Wednesday afternoon.
The 26-year-old Lowrie has endured a slow recovery from a case of mononucleosis that hit him in March. He will provide immediate relief for shortstop Marco Scutaro, who has played in a team-high 91 games despite needing a cortisone shot in his left elbow in May and another in his neck in June.
Scutaro has started 28 straight games.
McDonald will receive his first start in the leadoff spot since May 20 and his second all year. He is one of seven right-handed bats in the lineup against Athletics southpaw Gio Gonzalez, who has held lefties to a .155 average this year.
Adrian Beltre, who is 5-for-9 with a home run in the series, is 5-for-10 with a dinger and four RBIs against Gonzalez.
Dusty Brown will make his second career major league start behind the dish for the Sox.
Here are the complete lineups for the series finale:
Red Sox
Darnell McDonald, LF
Jed Lowrie, SS
David Ortiz, DH
Kevin Youkilis, 1B
Adrian Beltre, 3B
J.D. Drew, RF
Mike Cameron, CF
Bill Hall, 2B
Dusty Brown, C
Athletics
Cliff Pennington, Ss
Daric Barton, 1B
Kurt Suzuki, C
Jack Cust, DH
Kevin Kouzmanoff, 3B
Mark Ellis, 2B
Matt Watson, LF
Rajai Davis, RF
Coco Crisp, CF
