BOSTON -- It's not as if John Farrell has stuck to the same lineup this season. The batting order the Boston Red Sox manager wrote out for Saturday's game against the Los Angeles Angels was the 37th lineup he has used in 43 games. He hasn't used any lineup more than twice, according to Baseball-Reference.com.
But this time, Farrell made some major alterations at the top of the order for the first time this season. With just a few exceptions, Farrell had written the same names in order in the first four spots: Mookie Betts, Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz and Hanley Ramirez.
That changed Saturday night, when Pedroia was moved to the top of the order for the first time since May 22, 2014, Shane Victorino was placed in the 2-hole, and Ortiz and Ramirez flipped places, Ramirez hitting third for the first time this season and Ortiz batting cleanup for the first time since last July 29.
Betts sat, with Rusney Castillo in center field.
Farrell said he was guided by the success players have had hitting left-handed pitchers this season. Ramirez is batting .316 (12 for 38) against lefties, Victorino .364 (8 for 22), Pedroia .211 (8 for 38 but with a .769 OPS).
Ortiz, meanwhile, is batting just .125 (6 for 48) against lefties, with 10 strikeouts, while Betts is hitting .171 (7 for 41) and overall has a .297 on-base average, which ranks 16th among all leadoff men with at least 100 at-bats this season.
Farrell called it a "down day” for Betts, who had played in all 20 of the team's games this month, starting all but one of them.
With the Sox facing left-hander C.J. Wilson Saturday and Hector Santiago on Sunday, Farrell did not rule out leaving Pedroia in the top spot in consecutive games.
"We'll see how it unfolds," Farrell said.
Pedroia batted leadoff 23 times in a span of 24 games from April 24 to May 22, 2014, before ceding the role first to Brock Holt and then Betts. He posted a .275/.357/.412/.769 OPS in that stretch, scoring 15 runs and driving in 10. The Sox went 10-14 in that span, and Pedroia was removed from that role seven games into what would become a 10-game losing streak.
Victorino has not made a start since last weekend in Seattle, where he started 3 of 4 games and had five hits in 10 at-bats. Farrell had Victorino on his lineup card for Thursday night's game against the Rangers and left-hander Wandy Rodriguez, but Victorino scratched with what the manager called "general soreness centered on the left calf."
"With Vic," Farrell said Saturday when asked if he could trust that Victorino could stay on the field for multiple games, "I'll be honest with you, it's a day-to-day approach."
The Sox also made a roster move, bringing up reliever Heath Hembree from Pawtucket and sending down lefty Robbie Ross.
Here is Saturday's lineup:
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Shane Victorino, RF
Hanley Ramirez, LF
David Ortiz, DH
Xander Bogaerts, SS
Mike Napoli, 1B
Rusney Castillo, CF
Brock Holt, 3B
Steven Wright, RHP