A day after much upheaval over the status of Kevin Youkilis, the third baseman is back in the lineup for the final contest in a three-game series against the Atlanta Braves. Rather than bumping Will Middlebrooks out of the batting order, though, Youkilis will start at third, and Middlebrooks will take the designated hitter spot.
That leaves David Ortiz without a place to hit, and the slugger's usual cleanup role will now be filled by Cody Ross. He was 2-for-4 in Saturday's win and has been hitting well since missing a month while on the disabled list with a broken foot.
Sunday also marks the return of another Red Sox player eager to show his worth. Aaron Cook, whose only big league start was cut short after 2 2/3 innings when he took a cleat to the leg against Baltimore on May 5, will pitch in the place of Clay Buchholz, who has just landed on the disabled list.
Mike Minor (3-5, 6.04 ERA) will start for the Braves.
Here are the complete lineups for Sunday afternoon's game.
Red Sox (37-34)
Daniel Nava LF
Dustin Pedroia 2B
Will Middlebrooks DH
Cody Ross RF
Adrian Gonzalez 1B
Kevin Youkilis 3B
Mike Aviles SS
Darnell McDonald CF
Kelly Shoppach C
Aaron Cook P
Braves (38-33)
Michael Bourn CF
Martin Prado LF
Brian McCann C
Dan Uggla 2B
Freddie Freeman 1B
Jason Heyward RF
Andrelton Simmons SS
Eric Hinske DH
Juan Francisco 3B
Mike Minor P
