Several Red Sox hitters will be licking their chops when they step in to face Minnesota Twins right-hander Carl Pavano on Sunday at Fenway Park.
The six starters who have faced Pavano in the past are a combined 28-for-69 (.406) with five doubles and two home runs against the one-time Boston prospect.
Carl Crawford, who is batting .407 (11-for-27) in May, leads the way. He is a .393 (11-for-28) hitter against Pavano. Crawford will be batting eighth in front of Jason Varitek, who is 4-for-10 vs. the Twins righty.
Designated hitter David Ortiz and right fielder J.D. Drew, batting fifth and sixth in the lineup, are a combined 11-for-22 (.500) against Pavano.
Jacoby Ellsbury carries a 16-game hitting streak into Sunday's contest. He is batting .362 (25-for-69) during the run and leads Boston with nine stolen bases.
With Daisuke Matsuzaka on the mound, here is the entire Red Sox batting order, followed by that of the Twins:
Boston
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Kevin Youkilis, 3B
David Ortiz, DH
J.D. Drew, RF
Jed Lowrie, SS
Carl Crawford, LF
Jason Varitek, C
Minnesota
Denard Span, CF
Trevor Plouffe, SS
Justin Morneau, 1B
Jason Kubel, DH
Michael Cuddyer, RF
Danny Valencia, 3B
Ben Revere, LF
Drew Butera, C
Alexi Casilla, 2B