Carl Crawford bats leadoff and Jacoby Ellsbury is dropped once again in the lineup when the Red Sox host the New York Yankees at Fenway Park on Saturday.
Crawford was pushed into the top spot for the first time with Boston for Friday’s opener. He was on board with the move, saying that the struggling offense should “try anything” top get it going. The left fielder was 0-for-5, dropping his average for the year to .143. However, he is 2-for-4 with a walk against Yankees starter Ivan Nova.
The move caused Jacoby Ellsbury to be dropped to eighth. For Saturday, Ellsbury will bat ninth, a spot he has been in for 16 starts in his career, hitting .317.
The other notable change has Jed Lowrie getting his second start of the year at shortstop. Lowrie has seen limited action so far, going 1-for-7 overall.
With Clay Buchholz on the mound, here is the complete batting order against Nova, followed by that of the Yankees:
Boston
Carl Crawford, LF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Kevin Youkilis, 3B
David Ortiz, DH
J.D. Drew, RF
Jed Lowrie, SS
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
New York
Brett Gardner, LF
Derek Jeter, SS
Mark Teixeira, 1B
Alex Rodriguez, 3B
Robinson Cano, 2B
Nick Swisher, RF
Curtis Granderson, CF
Eric Chavez, DH
Russell Martin, C
