Of course the Sox would be better off with Big Papi in the lineup, but since Ortiz left a game against the White Sox with a heel injury one week ago — and Dustin Pedroia subsequently returned from the disabled list a couple days later — the batting order has been relatively consistent.
The speed of Jacoby Ellsbury and Carl Crawford remains at the top, Pedroia slots in third, while the resurgent Adrian Gonzalez and the red-hot Cody Ross fall in line behind them.
Rounding out a deep lineup with Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Will Middlebrooks all the way down at sixth and seventh, respectively, there aren’t many places for opposing pitchers to get easy outs against Boston. Then again, there aren’t many easy outs against the Texas Rangers, either.
Josh Hamilton has been scuffling since putting up absurd numbers over the first two months of the season, owning just a .686 OPS with 51 strikeouts in 169 plate appearances since the calendar turned to June. That being said, the Rangers offense is still a high-octane unit, ranking third in Major League Baseball in runs scored, behind only the Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays.
The starting pitchers are Felix Doubront (10-4, 4.24) and Scott Feldman (3-6 5.89), and you can check out the rest of each team’s starting lineup below.
Boston Red Sox:
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Carl Crawford, LF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Cody Ross, DH
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
Will Middlebrooks, 3B
Ryan Sweeney, RF
Mike Aviles, SS
Felix Doubront, LHP
Texas Rangers:
Ian Kinsler, 2B
Elvis Andrus, SS
Josh Hamilton, LF
Adrian Beltre, 3B
Michael Young, DH
Nelson Cruz, RF
Mike Napoli, C
Brandon Snyder, 1B
Craig Gentry, CF
Scott Feldman, RHP
