The young third baseman isn't in the lineup on Monday night as the Sox open a three-game set in Miami against the Marlins. Boston will go up against Josh Johnson, and they'll do it with Middlebrooks on the bench while Kevin Youkilis plays third, David Ortiz plays first and Adrian Gonzalez is back out in right field.
Youkilis is one of the only players in the Red Sox linelup who has seen Johnson before, hitting a home run in one of his three at-bats against the flame-throwing right-hander. Gonzalez also has experience facing Johnson from back in his National League days, boasting a .364 (4-for-11) average against Johnson.
Here are the lineups for Monday's game.
Red Sox
Scott Podsednik, LF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, RF
David Ortiz, 1B
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
Kevin Youkilis, 3B
Ryan Sweeney, CF
Mike Aviles, SS
Josh Beckett, P
Marlins
Jose Reyes, SS
Donovan Solano, 2B
Hanley Ramirez, 3B
Giancarlo Stanton, RF
Logan Morrison, LF
Gaby Sanchez, 1B
Chris Coghlan, CF
John Buck, C
Josh Johnson, P
