After a stellar rookie season with the Red Sox in 2012, Will Middlebrooks struggled mightily in the first half of 2013 and was sent down to Pawtucket on June 25. But now with no clear-cut starter at third, Middlebrooks will get another chance to prove his worth Saturday night against the Royals.
Middlebrooks was called up from Triple-A Pawtucket on Saturday in a move that sent Brandon Snyder to the 15-day disabled list. Snyder and Brock Holt have been splitting time at third since the departure of Jose Iglesias at the trade deadline, but neither has provided an offensive spark as Snyder was hitting just .209 on the season, and Holt was only batting .203.
Middlebrooks will get the start at the hot corner and bat ninth in a lineup that will look to bounce back against the Royals after losing 9-6 on Friday night. Daniel Nava will get the night off as Mike Carp returns to the diamond, starting in left and batting fifth behind David Ortiz.
Stephen Drew will look to keep his hot bat and extend his season-high hitting streak to 11 games tonight as the shortstop will bat seventh. During the streak, Drew has hit .432, knocked in 8 RBIs and launched 2 home runs.
Since the All-Star break, Kansas City has been hot — winning 17 of their last 21 contests — and the Red Sox will turn to Felix Doubront to slow the surging Royals. Doubront is riding a streak of 15 straight starts in which the lefty has given up three runs or less. Coming off a seven-shutout inning performance against the Diamondbacks on Sunday, Doubront has a 2.41 ERA in his last three starts.
Check out the lineups for both teams below.
Boston Red Sox (70-48)
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Shane Victorino, RF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Mike Carp, LF
Mike Napoli, 1B
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
Stephen Drew, SS
Will Middlebrooks, 3B
Felix Doubront, LHP
Kansas City Royals (60-53)
Alcides Escobar, SS
Eric Hosmer, 1B
Billy Butler, DH
Alex Gordon, LF
Justin Maxwell, RF
Miguel Tejada, 2B
Mike Moustakas, 3B
Brett Hayes, C
Jarrod Dyson, CF
Jeremy Guthrie, RHP
