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Red Sox vs. Yankees Lineups: Jacoby Ellsbury a late scratch

Jacoby Ellsbury is a late scratch Friday night as the Sox kick off an important series against the New York Yankees.

By Ben Buchanan
USA TODAY Sports

Jacoby Ellsbury will not start Friday night's game, a late scratch thanks to groin tightness. Instead, Jackie Bradley Jr. will get the first start of his second stint with the team as Jon Lester faces CC Sabathia.

Boston Red Sox (33-22)

  1. Daniel Nava, LF
  2. Jonny Gomes, RF
  3. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
  4. David Ortiz, DH
  5. Mike Napoli, 1B
  6. Stephen Drew, SS
  7. David Ross, C
  8. Jackie Bradley Jr., CF
  9. Jose Iglesias, 3B
Starting Pitcher -- Jon Lester

New York Yankees (30-23)

  1. Brett Gardner, CF
  2. Kevin Youkilis, DH
  3. Robinson Cano, 2B
  4. Mark Teixeira, 1B
  5. Vernon Wells, LF
  6. Jayson Nix, SS
  7. David Adams, 3B
  8. Ichiro Suzuki, RF
  9. Chris Stewart, C

Starting Pitcher -- CC Sabathia

It's nice to have David Ortiz back, and the Red Sox are lucky to have Daniel Nava and his .398 OBP as a seemingly natural fill-in for Jacoby Ellsbury at the top of the lineup. Still, the team keeps getting further and further away from their ideal starting nine.

The good news is that CC Sabathia isn't really his usual self so far this season. His strikeouts are down, his ERA up, and after giving up seven to the Rays, well, let's just say momentum isn't on his side. Lester isn't exactly at the top of his game right now either, however, so this battle of aces could easily end up being surprisingly offensive.

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