Red Sox vs. Dodgers lineups: Another unusual lineup as Pedroia returns

We've got another unusual lineup for the Red Sox as they try to at least come out on the right side of .500 on this trip out west.

Lots of changes this time. Bradley moves into the second spot to accommodate Dustin Pedroia batting cleanup in his return. Meanwhile, Hanley is out at first, with Travis Shaw and Brock Holt manning the corners. There's even a Bryan Holaday debut mixed in there.

Hanley's absence actually makes some sense right now. He's had some pretty big splits on the year, and has gone mostly quiet since his big three-homer game against the Giants, hitting to an OPS under .700. That David Ortiz isn't his replacement is at once unfortunate, and also entirely understandable given that the Sox probably weren't super happy about even playing him in the field for the first half of yesterday's game.

Frankly, coming away from a trip like this at a game over .500 would typically be something of a positive. It's really just the lead-in to this performance--their horrific 1-5 end to their homestand against the Twins and Tigers--that would put a damped on it. The Sox needed to be particularly good to make up for being particularly bad then, and they haven't done that.

They also haven't even locked in kind of good just yet. But if they can beat the Dodgers on the road, then that kind of makes up for the split with the Angels, and splitting with the Mariners on the road is about what should be expected. If they can't? Well we'll all have a nice day off tomorrow to observe the sky as it falls.

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