Adrian Gonzalez will have a day off as Kevin Youkilis returns to the lineup and first base Wednesday night against the Blue Jays.
Up to this point in the year, Gonzalez had played all 85 games of the season, more than earning himself a day off. With the Red Sox' new first baseman out, they'll shift their old first baseman back to the right side of the infield for the first time since 2010. Youkilis missed Tuesday's game after being hit by a pitch Monday, and has been dealing with a lingering foot injury for a number of weeks now.
This leads to another unusual lineup for the Red Sox, as they prepare to take on Ricky Romero.
Boston Red Sox (50-35)
- Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
- Marco Scutaro, SS
- Dustin Pedroia, 2B
- David Ortiz, DH
- Kevin Youkilis, 1B
- J.D. Drew, RF
- Darnell McDonald, LF
- Jarrod Saltlamacchia, C
- Yamaico Navarro, 3B
- Yunel Escobar, SS
- Eric Thames, LF
- Jose Bautista, 3B
- Adam Lind, 1B
- Edwin Encarnacion, DH
- Aaron Hill, 2B
- Travis Snider, RF
- J.P. Arencibia, C
- Rajai Davis, CF
Pitching Matchup: Tim Wakefield (4-3, 4.82 ERA) vs. Ricky Romero (7-7, 2.75 ERA)
Tim Wakefield has had a couple of very difficult games recently in spite of taking on a pair of teams that hadn't seen him ever before. It would normally bode ill, then, that he should have to now face a division opponent whose batters have seen him in more than 150 plate appearances. Perhaps not with the Blue Jays, however, who haven't ever really been able to do anything against Wakefield's knuckler in those many appearances.Only Escobar and Snider have had much success against him, and that comes in only 13 combined plate appearances. Hopefully, Toronto will be the team to set Wakefield right when the Sox need him most.
Boston, on the other hand, is just the sort of team that could knock Romero off what seems to be a two-month hot streak. The friendly confines of Fenway have never been terrible kind to Romero, nor has any Boston lineup. He allowed five earned runs in fewer innings against them earlier this season, and a number of Red Sox hitters just seem to hammer the young southpaw.
The Sox aim to make it six wins in seven games Wednesday at 7:10 p.m.