Lineup stability important to Farrell

BOSTON -- Now that his team is getting healthy again, manager John Farrell looks forward to being able to post a consistent lineup every game.

The one for Thursday's game against the Yankees had Dustin Pedroia leading off, with Shane Victorino hitting second in his debut. David Ortiz was in the three-hole, followed by Mike Napoli, Jonny Gomes and Xander Bogaerts.

Against righties, Grady Sizemore will probably bat fifth.

In particular, the leadoff spot has had a lot of change, with five different players hitting in that slot. Look for Pedroia to stick there for a while.

"I'd like to think we'd take the current lineup and run with it for a while to further that stability both defensively and through the lineup," said Farrell.

The entire "A" lineup will play together for the first time on Friday night in Toronto, when third baseman Will Middlebrooks is expected to be activated.

"I think that's the one thing I talked about a minute ago, is just the continuity and some stability with the names we anticipated breaking camp with. Three and a half weeks into the season, we're finally getting there," said Farrell.