The Yankees will have a familiar face back in the lineup on Friday night. The Red Sox will be missing one.
Jacoby Ellsbury was a late scratch against the Yankees on the same night that Mark Teixeira is making his return to the New York lineup. The Red Sox centerfielder was originally penciled in to play, but then was taken out due to what the team is calling tightness in his left groin.
According to NESN’s Jenny Dell, Ellsbury felt the tightness while stealing his fifth base of the night during Thursday’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies. Those five stolen bases are a Red Sox team record for steals in a game, but the glory is now short-lived with Ellsbury absent for a follow-up performance against CC Sabathia and the Yankees.
The Red Sox have had some success against Sabathia, a former Cy Young winner, in recent games. Boston is 6-2 in its last eight games against the left-hander, dating back to 2011. Sabathia is 2-5 with a 6.12 ERA against the Sox, but 36-13 with a 2.97 ERA against everyone else.
Check out the starting lineups for both squads below.
Boston Red Sox (33-22)
Daniel Nava, LF
Jonny Gomes, RF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Mike Napoli, 1B
Stephen Drew, SS
David Ross, C
Jackie Bradley Jr., CF
Jose Iglesias, 3B
Jon Lester, LHP
New York Yankees (30-23)
Brett Gardner, CF
Kevin Youkilis, DH
Robinson Cano, 2B
Mark Teixeira, 1B
Vernon Wells, LF
Jayson Nix, SS
David Adams, 3B
Ichiro Suzuki, RF
Chris Stewart, C
CC Sabathia, LHP
