Red Sox vs. Royals (August 19, 2011)

Red Sox (75-48) @ Kansas City Royals (51-74)

SP - Andrew Miller (4-1, 5.40) vs. Jeff Francis (4-13, 4.76)

1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
2. Mike Aviles, SS
3. Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
4. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
5. Jed Lowrie, 3B
6. Ryan Lavarnway, DH
7. Carl Crawford, LF
8. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
9. Darnell McDonald, RF

Three Strikes:

1. It's time that Terry Francona just put Carl Crawford in the seventh spot in his lineup and just hope for the best.

In 17 games in that spot, Crawford has a triple slash of .274/.338/.435/.774.  His numbers hitting in the sixth spot are actually a little better (.299/.325/.469/.794 in 37 games) but I'm sure that Francona wants to keep David Ortiz (when he returns) and Crawford separated in the lineup to avoid opponents using one lefty reliever without having to make a change.

Obviously this is not what the Red Sox wanted when they gave Crawford his 7-year/$142-million deal back in November but they need to focus on what he can give them during the remaining part of the regular season and in the playoffs rather than on his struggles up until now.

2. Jeff Francis was last seen by the Red Sox in Game 1 of the 2007 World Series, a game in which he gave up six runs in just four innings including a home run by Dustin Pedroia in the first inning.

Pedroia, who was just a rookie back then, was stopped from entering Coors Field on the day of Game 3 by a security guard who did not recognize the Red Sox second baseman.  Pedroia flippantly told the security guard that if he needed confirmation about his identity that he could go ask Francis.

Just another reason why it's so great to have Pedroia on the Red Sox.

3. If you have a chance to bet on tonight's game, take the over.

Andrew Miller hasn't started since July 31 so his control issues could be a real problem tonight and Francis is 1-7 with a 5.26 ERA in his last 11 starts.

Expect a lot of runs.