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Red Sox vs. Blue Jays: Brock Holt out, Mookie Betts leads off

Mookie Betts is back in the leadoff spot where, dare I say, he belongs.

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Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports

Brock Holt is out of the lineup Saturday night, leaving Mookie Betts with leadoff duty as the Red Sox send Clay Buchholz to the mound against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Today's Lineups

TORONTO BLUE JAYS BOSTON RED SOX
Jose Reyes - SS Mookie Betts - CF
Jose Bautista - RF Dustin Pedroia - 2B
Edwin Encarnacion - 1B David Ortiz - DH
Adam Lind - DH Yoenis Cespedes - LF
Dioner Navarro - C Mike Napoli - 1B
Danny Valencia - 3B Xander Bogaerts - SS
Kevin Pillar - LF Allen Craig - RF
Ryan Goins - 2B Will Middlebrooks - 3B
Anthony Gose - CF Christian Vazquez - C
J.A. Happ - LHP Clay Buchholz - RHP

Holt is out after leaving Friday night's game due to dizziness. There's been no word on his condition since, but suffice it to say the Red Sox see no reason to play with fire in this situation. That allows Mookie Betts to head back up to the top of the lineup where, frankly, it's looking more and more like he belongs by the game. The 21-year-old rookie is hitting .303/.395/.500 since rejoining the team on August 18, and seems to have a knack for being involved in either scoring runs, or driving them in.

Clay Buchholz, meanwhile, is coming off his second shutout performance of the season, which should be a reason to feel confident headed into tonight's game. But, lest we forget, complete game shutouts inevitably lead to disaster. Inevitably! Unless you turn around three times and throw salt over your shoulder. Baseball sure is a complicated game.

First pitch is at 7:10 p.m. ET with broadcasts on NESN and WEEI.

Editor's Note: SB Nation's partner FanDuel is hosting a one-day $18,000 Fantasy Baseball league for tonight's MLB games. It's $2 to join and first prize is $2,000. You can join in now using this link.