Jackie Bradley Jr. will get the start in center field for the Red Sox as they try to secure yet another series win against Alex Cobb and the Tampa Bay Rays.
Boston Red Sox (88-58)
- Dustin Pedroia, 2B
- Shane Victorino, RF
- David Ortiz, DH
- Mike Napoli, 1B
- Daniel Nava, LF
- Stephen Drew, SS
- Will Middlebrooks, 3B
- David Ross, C
- Jackie Bradley Jr., CF
Starting Pitcher -- Ryan Dempster
Tampa Bay Rays (78-65)
- David DeJesus, LF
- Wil Myers, RF
- Ben Zobrist, 2B
- Evan Longoria, 3B
- Matt Joyce, DH
- Desmond Jennings, CF
- James Loney, 1B
- Jose Lobaton, C
- Yunel Escobar, SS
Starting Pitcher -- Alex Cobb
The Red Sox sure do produce a lot of lineups which make you wonder how, exactly, they lead all of Major League Baseball in runs scored. Especially if you approach it from a pre-2013 perspective. Daniel Nava is batting fifth? Stephen Drew sixth? But, at least against right-handed pitching, that's more than reasonable, especially bookended as it is by the co-American League Players of the Week.
More than anyone else, that strange run-scoring habit has benefited Ryan Dempster who, frankly, has really needed the help so far this season. Hopefully that curious trend takes precedence over Alex Cobb's tendency not to allow runs--it can't hurt that he's been more wild than usual since his mid-August return to action after missing two months.