For the first time since June 25, Dustin Pedroia's name is on the Red Sox lineup card. He will bat in his customary second spot in the order and play second base as Boston opens a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Tuesday.
Pedroia, who was scorching hot when he broke his left foot in San Francisco nearly two months ago, played in two rehab games with Triple-A Pawtucket over the weekend and will be formally activated prior to the game Tuesday.
His return provides a major boost for a team that has gone 23-21 in his absence while struggling at times to score runs.
In addition to Pedroia's return, the Tuesday night lineup features the second straight start in center field for rookie Ryan Kalish. Darnell McDonald will make his 10th start of the season in left field.
Pedroia (.231) is one of the few Red Sox starters to not have solid numbers against Angels starter Jered Weaver. J.D. Drew is 6-for-17 (.353) with a home run vs. Weaver, Mike Lowell is 5-for-16 (.313) and David Ortiz is 7-for-23 (.304) with two home runs and nine RBIs.
Weaver owns a 7.06 ERA in four career starts at Fenway Park.
Here are the lineups for both teams:
Red Sox
Marco Scutaro, SS
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Victor Martinez, C
Adrian Beltre, 3B
J.D. Drew, RF
Mike Lowell, 1B
Ryan Kalish, CF
Darnell McDonald, LF
Angels
Bobby Abreu, LF
Maicer Izturis, 2B
Alberto Callaspo, 3B
Torii Hunter, RF
Hideki Matsui, DH
Erick Aybar, SS
Mike Napoli, 1B
Bobby Wilson, C
Peter Bourjos, CF
