Red Sox (72-43) @ Minnesota Twins (51-65)
SP - Jon Lester (11-5, 3.23) vs. Nick Blackburn (7-9, 4.58)
1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
2. Marco Scutaro, SS
3. Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
4. Kevin Youkilis, 3B
5. David Ortiz, DH
6. Carl Crawford, LF
7. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
8. Josh Reddick, RF
9. Mike Aviles, 2B
Three Strikes:
1. With both Dustin Pedroia and Jed Lowrie getting the night off, the Red Sox depth will be on display tonight with Marco Scutaro getting the start at shortstop and Mike Aviles playing second base.
The depth that Terry Francona has on the bench - Jason Varitek, Scutaro (now that Lowrie is back), Aviles, and Darnell McDonald with J.D. Drew on the road to recovery - is starting to resemble the deep 2004 bench which featured Doug Mientkiewicz, Dave Roberts, Gabe Kapler, Pokey Reese, and Doug Mirabelli.
When October rolls around and each game becomes life-or-death that kind of depth could mean the difference between winning or losing a championship.
2. After starting the season 0-7 on the road, the Red Sox have gone on a 35-14 tear away from Fenway Park.
3. Adrian Gonzalez has experienced a minor slip at the plate in August. In 9 games he has a .286 BA, 0 HR, 2 RBI, and a .721 OPS.
It is just a small speed bump but it does bear watching as the Red Sox enter the home stretch.
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