In a move designed to take the pressure off newcomer Carl Crawford, Red Sox manager Terry Francona slotted the 2 million man seventh in his batting order on Sunday in Texas.
It marked the first time in Crawford's career that he has hit seventh in any lineup in a non pinch-hitting situation. He started only 43 games hitting lower than third in nine seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays.
Crawford responded to the demotion with his first two hits in a Boston jersey, including an RBI single in the seventh inning. The lefty had been 0-for-7 in his first two games while hitting in the three hole.
Adrian Gonzalez hit third in the Sox' batting order while David Ortiz slid up to the five hole for the first time this season. Jed Lowrie made his first start at shortstop and batted sixth ahead of Crawford.
Francona explained his reason for dropping Crawford to the seven hole in just the third game of the season (courtesy of MLB.com's Ian Browne):
“Looking at him, it̵…
Yardbarker: MLB

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