The New York Yankees, having wrapped up the AL East title already, will likely give some sporadic rest to their regulars over the next week. Friday night, however, will not be a night of rest for the regulars.
The Red Sox and Yankees open a three-game set in the Bronx that will be crucial for the visitors, and Joe Girardi is rolling out his regular lineup on Friday night against Jon Lester.
The Sox, on the other hand, have midseason pickup Mike Aviles in the fifth spot of the order as he continues to fill in for the banged-up Kevin Youkilis. As NESN.com Red Sox beat writer Tony Lee points out, it is only the second time in Aviles' career that he has batted fifth. He went 1-for-5 with three RBIs in that 2008 game.
The move makes a little more sense when you consider that Yankees right-hander Freddy Garcia gets the ball for New York in the opener. Aviles has hit Garcia at a .636 clip (7-for-11) with a home run in his career.
Marco Scutaro, who is hitting right after Carl Crawford in the seventh spot, also has good career numbers against the New York starter. Scutaro has eight hits in 15 career at-bats against Garcia.
The lineups for both teams are below.
New York
Derek Jeter, SS
Curtis Granderson, CF
Mark Teixeira, 1B
Alex Rodriguez, 3B
Robinson Cano, 2B
Nick Swisher, RF
Andruw Jones, LF
Jesus Montero, DH
Russell Martin, C
Boston
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
David Ortiz, DH
Mike Aviles, 3B
Carl Crawford, LF
Marco Scutaro, SS
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
Josh Reddick, RF
