It's safe to assume that Red Sox left fielder Carl Crawford had this weekend's series against the Astros circled on his calendar for a long time. However, the Houston native remains on the disabled list with a hamstring injury, and as a result, Josh Reddick will look to continue his torrid pace on Friday at Minute Made Park in Crawford's place.
Reddick will hit seventh and play left field once again on Friday night, as the Sox and Astros open up a three-game series in Houston. The 24-year-old outfielder will be one of the few Red Sox who will be sad to see interleague play wrapped up this weekend. In his last eight games, all against NL foes, Reddick is hitting a cool .500 (10-for-20) with a home run and five RBIs.
The Sox will have to find a way to figure out Houston starter Bud Norris. The only member of the Red Sox lineup to have ever seen the right-hander is Adrian Gonzalez, who is 0-for-3 in his career against Norris. Potentially making things even more difficult for the Red Sox is the fact that Norris is 3-3 with an impressive 2.35 ERA at home this season.
J.D. Drew will man the fifth spot behind cleanup hitter Kevin Youkilis.
Carlos Lee is the only member of the Houston starting lineup to have faced Boston starter Tim Wakefield before. Lee has done so with some success, too, as he is a .375 (9-for-24) lifetime hitter against the knuckleballer with two home runs and six RBIs.
Here are the lineups for both teams for Friday's series opener.
Boston
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Kevin Youkilis, 3B
J.D. Drew, RF
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
Josh Reddick, LF
Marco Scutaro, SS
Tim Wakefield, P
Houston
Michael Bourn, CF
Angel Sanchez, 2B
Hunter Pence, RF
Carlos Lee, LF
Chris Johnson, 3B
Brett Wallace, 1B
Clint Barmes, SS
Carlos Corporan, C
Bud Norris, P
