Darnell McDonald Batting Second as Red Sox Piece Together Lineup Without Kevin Youkilis

Darnell McDonald is batting .122 this season. He is 1-for-8 in his career against Cole Hamels, who starts for the Phillies on Thursday. Yet, McDonald has been penciled in to the No. 2 spot for the Red Sox' afternoon affair in Philly.

That's because Kevin Youkilis won't be in the lineup, as he'll be getting an X-ray on his left foot after fouling a ball off it on Wednesday night. That issue is compounded by the lack of a designated hitter in the National League ballpark, forcing Terry Francona to do what he can against the Phils' dominant lefty.

Adrian Gonzalez will remain in the No. 3 spot, while Dustin Pedroia will fill in for Youkilis as the cleanup hitter. The batting order beyond that — Jason Varitek, Josh Reddick, Drew Sutton and Marco Scutaro — isn't exactly what many people had in mind in March, when they predicted the Red Sox to win the World Series. Given the injury to Carl Crawford and the absence of David Ortiz and Youkilis, though, that's what they have to work with.

There is hope, yet, though. Gonzalez owns a .364 average and .462 OBP in 26 plate appearances against Hamels, including a pair of homers. Pedroia is also 5-for-10 with a solo homer off Hamels.

For the Phils, Raul Ibanez, fresh off a monster night against John Lackey, owns a .444 career batting average against Sox starter Jon Lester.

Below are the lineups for both teams.

Red Sox
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Darnell McDonald, RF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Jason Varitek, C
Josh Reddick, LF
Drew Sutton, 3B
Marco Scutaro, SS
Jon Lester, P

Phillies
Jimmy Rollins, SS
Placido Polanco, 3B
Chase Utley, 2B
Ryan Howard, 1B
Shane Victorino, CF
Ben Francisco, RF
Raul Ibanez, LF
Carlos Ruiz, C
Cole Hamels, P