The Red Sox left fielder is mired in a serious slump over the last four games, going hitless in 14 at-bats. In fact, Crawford is 2-for-22 in the last six games, to go with eight strikeouts during that time.
He has yet to record an extra-base hit this season after retuning from injury, but a big series against the Yankees could springboard Crawford to a strong second half.
For the Yankees, Ichiro Suzuki will get his introduction to the Boston-New York rivalry for the first time, making his NYC debut as a member of the Bronx Bombers. He'll face Aaron Cook, pitching for the Sox and hoping to rebound from one of his worst performances of the year.
New York will counter with Phil Hughes, who is 9-8 with a 4.09 ERA entering Friday night. With the trade deadline looming on Tuesday, a potential make-or-break series for the Red Sox gets underway in the Bronx on Friday night. Check out the full lineups below.
Red Sox (49-50)
Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Carl Crawford LF
Dustin Pedroia 2B
Adrian Gonzalez 1B
Cody Ross RF
Jarrod Saltalamacchia C
Will Middlebrooks 3B
Daniel Nava DH
Mike Aviles SS
Aaron Cook P
Yankees (59-39)
Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Robinson Cano 2B
Mark Teixeira 1B
Raul Ibanez LF
Andruw Jones DH
Eric Chavez 3B
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Russell Martin C
Phil Hughes P
