Red Sox manager Terry Francona will drastically alter his lineup, as the Sox prepare to try and finish off the sweep of a day-night doubleheader with the Rays on Tuesday night.
David Ortiz missed the first game of the twinbill when he was a late scratch for what was originally called an illness. However, it was revealed in between games that the designated hitter is suffering from right heel bursitis, and he will miss the second game as well.
That means that Carl Crawford will start the nightcap as the team's designated hitter. Jed Lowrie, who served as the late addition to the Boston lineup in the DH spot in the first game, will move to third base. That means that Kevin Youkilis, who missed Friday's game in Seattle with a stiff back, gets the nightcap off — at least to begin with.
With Youkilis out of the lineup, that also means that Dustin Pedroia will slide down the lineup away from his customary No. 2 spot — which will be occupied by Lowrie — to the cleanup spot in place of Youkilis. The second baseman enters Tuesday night's game with a .512 (24-for-52) career average in the cleanup spot to go along with five home runs and 12 RBIs in the four-hole.
Not surprisingly, Jason Varitek is behind the plate to catch for Erik Bedard after Jarrod Saltalamacchia caught all nine innings of Game 1.
Tampa Bay starter Jeff Niemann carries a 2-2 career record with a 4.56 ERA into the start against the Red Sox.
On the other side, Bedard makes his third start in a Red Sox uniform, and he's looking for continued success against the Rays. He's 11-4 with a 3.41 ERA against them for his career, but he struggled in his last outing against Tampa Bay. That was his final start as a member of the Mariners, a start in which he did not get out of the second inning.
Here's how both teams will start.
Boston
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Jed Lowrie, 3B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Josh Reddick, RF
Carl Crawford, DH
Mike Aviles, SS
Jason Varitek, C
Darnell McDonald, LF
Tampa Bay
Desmond Jennings, CF
Johnny Damon, DH
Evan Longoria, 3B
Ben Zobrist, 2B
B.J. Upton, CF
Casey Kotchman, 1B
Sean Rodriguez, SS
Matt Joyce, RF
Robinson Chirinos, C
