Crawford Returns To Lineup For Red Sox
BOSTON (CBS) - Carl Crawford is back in the Red Sox lineup Tuesday night after missing Monday's doubleheader with a stiff neck.
Crawford will bat sixth and play left field. He was originally in Monday afternoon's lineup, but asked out of it after suffering the injury in batting practice.
Manager Terry Francona was asked how Crawford was feeling before the game, and said his left fielder has improved a lot since Monday.
"Good enough to play. He's sore, but he's able to move," said Tito. "Yesterday he couldn't move; he just couldn't turn his head."
The Red Sox look to make it two straight wins against the Orioles, and hold their two game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL Wild Card race. The Rays start a four-game series with the Yankees in New York on Tuesday.
Listen: John Tomase On T&R: Crawford Hears All Criticism
Erik Bedard (5-9, 3.50 ERA) makes his first start since September 3 for Boston, going up against Baltimore Rick Vandenhurk (0-0, 6.00 ERA).
Here is the full Red Sox lineup for Tuesday Night:
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
David Ortiz, DH
Josh Reddick, RF
Carl Crawford, LF
Marco Scutaro, SS
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
Mike Aviles, 3B
