Lowrie, who went 3-for-5 with a two-run homer in that first game at leadoff, is 15-for-24 (.625) with two home runs, two doubles and nine RBIs over his last seven games, two of which he didn't start.
The 27-year-old is one of the few Red Sox hitters with some success against A's lefty Brett Anderson. Lowrie is 2-for-6 with a double vs. Anderson. Marco Scutaro, who is on the bench for the fourth straight game because of Lowrie's hot streak, is on the lone Boston hitter to have a home run off Anderson.
Mike Cameron will play right field in place of J.D. Drew and Darnell McDonald is in center field instead of Jacoby Ellsbury. Drew and Ellsbury are a combined 0-for-12 with four strikeouts against Anderson.
Carl Crawford, batting .133, hits seventh for the second straight game.
With John Lackey on the mound opposite Anderson, here are the lineups for the opener of the two-game set:
Boston
Jed Lowrie, SS
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Kevin Youkilis, 3B
David Ortiz, DH
Mike Cameron, RF
Carl Crawford, LF
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
Darnell McDonald, CF
Oakland
Coco Crisp, CF
Daric Barton, 1B
David DeJesus, RF
Josh Willingham, LF
Hideki Matsui, DH
Kurt Suzuki, C
Mark Ellis, 2B
Kevin Kouzmanoff, 3B
Cliff Pennington, SS
