The New York Yankees' series against the Boston Red Sox is critical for a different set of reasons than it usually is. The Yanks are still fighting for the top spot in the American League East, but this time, their bitter rivals are just trying to play spoiler.
The Yankees will play a very similar lineup to the one they put out in Saturday's loss to the second-place Baltimore Orioles against a left-handed pitcher in Joe Saunders, with one big difference: Mark Teixeira, who returned from injury to start that game but hurt himself again, is out, causing everybody else to slide up a spot in the lineup. Here's how they look:
1. Derek Jeter (R) SS
2. Nick Swisher (S) RF
3. Alex Rodriguez (R) DH
4. Robinson Cano (L) 2B
5. Russell Martin (R) C
6. Steve Pearce (R) 1B
7. Curtis Granderson (L) CF
8. Andruw Jones (R) LF
9. Jayson Nix (R) 3B
The left-handed Ichiro will sit, with righties Pearce and Jones getting the nod against Boston left-hander Jon Lester.
Here's the lineup the Red Sox will start:
1. Jacoby Ellsbury (L) CF
2. Scott Podsednik (L) DH
3. Dustin Pedroia (R) 2B
4. James Loney (L) 1B
5. Cody Ross (R) LF
6. Ryan Lavarnway (R) C
7. Ryan Kalish (L) RF
8. Pedro Ciriaco (R) 3B
9. Mike Aviles (R) SS
For more on the Yanks-Sox showdown, head over to Pinstriped Bible and continue to check out SB Nation New York.