The Red Sox head into Cleveland with a chip on their shoulders after losing two straight to the Rangers, finishing off their 10-game home stand with a 55-57 record. Now they turn their attention to the road and hope for better results against the Indians.
Pedro Ciriaco is back in the lineup, taking over at second base for hot-hitting Dustin Pedroia. Not to worry, though, Pedey's still slated to hit third in the order, he'll just be doing it as the Sox designated hitter on Thursday.
The dynamic duo of Jacoby Ellsbury and Carl Crawford will look to get things going for the Boston offense, kicking things off from the top of the order. Meanwhile, Felix Doubront (10-5, 4.56) will be taking the hill in hopes of building a winning streak for the Sox.
Ubaldo Jimenez (8-11, 5.29) hasn't quite been the same pitcher as the 2010 Cy Young second-runner up this season, and has performed even worse of late. Jimenez has allowed five runs or more in four of his past five starts and seems to be struggling with his command. This could be a good sign for Red Sox hitters, but it could also present a challenge if Jimenez figures out how to work out all the kinks.
Check out the full lineups for both sides below.
Red Sox (55-57)
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Carl Crawford, LF
Dustin Pedroia, DH
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Cody Ross, RF
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
Will Middlebrooks, 3B
Mike Aviles, SS
Pedro Ciriaco, 2B
Felix Doubront, LHP
Indians (51-60)
Jason Donald, 2B
Asdrubal Cabrera, SS
Shin-Soo Choo, RF
Carlos Santana, DH
Michael Brantley, CF
Shelley Duncan, LF
Brent Lillibridge, 3B
Casey Kotchman, 1B
Lou Marson, C
Ubaldo Jimenez, RHP
