Carl Crawford will bat leadoff in his first game against his former team when the Red Sox host the struggling Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night at Fenway Park.
Crawford is just 1-for-15 since being inserted into the leadoff spot on Friday. He is hitting .132 (5-for-38) overall. The former Ray spent nine seasons in Tampa Bay before signing a seven-year deal with Boston in December.
Jacoby Ellsbury is back in the eighth spot in the lineup after being dropped to ninth on Saturday and being sat Sunday. He is just 2-for-25 (.080) since hitting a two-run homer in the first game of the season.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia returns to lineup to catch Daisuke Matsuzaka for the first time this year. Saltalamacchia is one of the few Red Sox hitters to ever face Tampa Bay right-hander Jeremy Hellickson, ripping an RBI double in their one and only encounter.
With Matsuzaka on the mound, here is the Boston batting order:
Carl Crawford, LF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Kevin Youkilis, 3B
David Ortiz, DH
J.D. Drew, RF
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Marco Scutaro, SS
Here’s the Tampa Bay lineup for Monday night:
Sam Fuld, LF
Johnny Damon, DH
Matt Joyce, RF
Dan Johnson, 1B
Ben Zobrist,2B
B.J. Upton, CF
Felipe Lopez, 3B
John Jaso, C
Reid Brignac, SS
