BOSTON — Kevin Youkilis returns to the lineup after a day off with an illness as the Red Sox look to keep their streak going against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Wednesday.
Youkilis was a late scratch Tuesday with whatever sort of bug is working its way through Boston's clubhouse. He also missed Sunday's game against Seattle with hip soreness and enters this one hitting just .232.
It's a pretty good time for Youkilis to get back in there. He is 3-for-8 (.375) with a home run and two walks against Angels starter Ervin Santana. David Ortiz, batting behind Youkilis in the fifth spot in the lineup, is 7-for-22 (.318) with a pair of homers versus the righty.
Mike Cameron, who is 2-for-2 with a walk against Santana, gets the start in right field in place of J.D. Drew. Drew struck out three times Tuesday night and is just 1-for-18 over his last six games.
Jed Lowrie gets another start at shortstop, and Jason Varitek, who is 1-for-17 versus Santana, is behind the plate and batting ninth. In front of him is Carl Crawford, batting 6-for-11 in May and on the verge of getting his average back to .200 for the first time in almost a month.
Crawford enters this one at .194.
Here is the complete Boston batting order in support of Josh Beckett, followed by those playing behind Santana:
Red Sox
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Kevin Youkilis, 3B
David Ortiz, DH
Jed Lowrie, SS
Mike Cameron, RF
Carl Crawford, LF
Jason Varitek, C
Angels
Erick Aybar, SS
Bobby Abreu, DH
Maicer Izturis, 2B
Torii Hunter, RF
Alberto Callaspo, 3B
Howie Kendrick, 1B
Vernon Wells, LF
Hank Conger, C
Peter Bourjos, CF
